The Department of Oddities and the Unexplained
by albe-chan
Summary: The Department of Oddities and the Unexplained handles all things that straddle the line between Muggle, magic, and dangerous. Lily Potter is sent out on an undercover mission with the one wizard she dreads seeing. But as they work together, and accomplish their mission, can mutual hate turn into more? And what happens when rules get broken? MATURE. Next Gen. LilyScorpius.
1. Chapter 1

**The Department of Oddities and the Unexplained**

written by: albe-chan

 **DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational potion use and drinking, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily Potter frowned at the man holding his lamp at bay with a rake. "Really?" she said blandly, rolling hazel eyes, almost offended she'd even been called out of bed at two in the morning for a something so trivial as a biting lamp. Weren't there rookies for this shit? The guy, who looked terrified, jabbed his rake at the lamp again, and it snapped viciously.

"Are you just gonna stand there, lady, or are you gonna help me!?" the man demanded, looking quite demented in his robe and slippers, hair sticking up everywhere.

"Relax," Lily said, through a yawn, and pulled her wand out. " _Finite Incantatem_ ," she mumbled at the lamp, which turned on her now, snapping the porcelain jaws in its base at her, the cord flicking out dangerously. "Huh, somebody's made this night shit for me," she sighed, and flicked her wand at the lamp again. It snapped and hopped forward, toward her, and the Muggle man jumped onto his bed, looking petrified. Lily squinted as the lamp shined light directly in her eyes and then jumped at her, waved her wand again, and the lamp fell to the ground, once more a standard lamp, smashing artfully on impact.

"Hey, that was my lamp!" the Muggle guy said in protest, looking beyond shock and awe and into hysteria mode. Lily sighed, barely resisting rolling her eyes again. Twelve seconds ago the guy was beating the thing with a device for gathering fallen leaves, and now he was pissed because she'd broken the ugly fucking lamp. Typical man!

" _Reparo_ ," she muttered, and the lamp mended itself neatly. She picked it up and set it on the dresser, then tried to suppress another yawn, knowing she had to focus on the next bit. It was the part she liked least about her job, except when she got called out for the worst sorts of things like this, in the middle of the night, because Lily was terrified someday she'd mess up.

"Who are you?" the guy finally demanded.

Lily pulled a face. "Everything will make sense in the morning," she said firmly, and then pointed her wand at the poor guy. " _Obliviate minimus._ "

By the time she got back to the Ministry, it was pushing three, and Lily wanted to get in, file her damn incident report, and get home before her alarm would go off at six thirty. She didn't bother stifling the loud, jaw-cracking yawn as she got to her desk.

"Look what the cat dragged out of bed," said a horribly familiar, drawling voice, and Lily grit her teeth, pulling out forms and a quill.

"Sod off if you value your life, Malfoy," Lily grumbled, rolling her eyes furiously, because if she had to pick one person to disappear off the face of the earth forever, it would be the arrogant, complete prick, and utterly fucking gorgeous blond pureblood whose desk was across from hers, with only a too short frosted glass barrier between.

"So grouchy, Little Potter," he said, and she could picture the bastard smirking. "Let me guess, you got called out for a biting lamp?" he drawled. Lily looked at him properly, incident report form forgotten, and glared menacingly.

"What the hell did you do?" she snarled. Scorpius grinned widely, dark grey eyes thoroughly amused.

"Got called in to deal with the same damn thing," the pureblood said, and pouted dramatically. "So if anyone should be grouchy, it's me. I had a lovely young witch in nothing but knickers when I got the call, and suffice to say, she's probably not waiting for me to get back." Lily's lip curled. "And I'm almost certain you were simply going about your normal, boring sleep cycle, so you can suck it up, Potter."

"You're a fucking pig," she said scathingly, and turned back to her report. After only a half word more, though, she found herself unable to help looking up and asking, "Do you think it's some kind of widespread curse? Of course, I got rid of it with the simple Animatus Counter Jinx, but if it's a widespread issue, we'll have to-"

"Relax, Little Potter," Scorpius said dismissively. "If it becomes an issue, we'll undoubtedly end up handling it." Lily frowned massively, because that was _not_ what protocol dictated. Dark grey eyes flicked up to meet her hazel gaze. "But if you'd like to spend the rest of your night filling out a small mountain of paperwork, go right ahead."

She sent him a dirty look, because she was already sleep deprived enough as it was, and quickly set to work on her incident report instead. If it turned out she needed to do the other required paperwork to report a possible widespread curse upon lamps fitting the description of the one she'd encountered, Lily figured she could do it on a couple more hours' sleep.

The redhead heard Scorpius finish his report and scrawl his name at the bottom with a flourish, his chair squeaking a little when he leaned back, and he sighed. "Well, that's another stunning report by yours truly, and another problem solved for some poor unfortunate bastard with horrible taste in lighting decor." Lily grit her teeth against the request for him to shut the bloody fuck up, working on completing her own report. "You almost done, Little Potter?"

"No," she said darkly, pressing harder than necessary with her quill.

Malfoy snorted. "Wow, what are you writing a novel? Merlin, no wonder your reports don't even get read." Lily gripped her quill tighter but kept on writing steadily. "Then again, to be fair, it might just be because they're boring," he added.

Lily jabbed a hole in her parchment with her quill. "Can you shut up?" she growled.

"Can I shut up? Of course I _can_. Will I? Probably not. Hurry up, you're not going to get it done any faster glaring at me, Little Potter." She glared still, hating him thoroughly, but Scorpius merely smiled winningly.

"Just fucking go home," she grumbled, going back to her report.

"And leave you here alone, to get home by yourself, when there could be a whole army of vicious, murderous lamps waiting for you? Nah. Besides, I owe Albus a favour, so this will make us square."

"I don't need your help," she said instantly, report all but forgotten. Scorpius rolled dark grey eyes.

"Sure," he said disbelievingly. "Hurry up, Little Potter. Quill to parchment, go, go, _go_!"

"Seriously, go fuck yourself," Lily scoffed, but went back to her report. "And get out of here and back to whatever dumb bimbo will have you."

She looked up when she caught a whiff of expensive, mouth-watering delicious cologne, and felt him leaning over her desk. And indeed, his hands were splayed on his own desk, looming over her. "They're not all dumb bimbos. Hurry up. You don't have to include every bloody detail, Potter."

She frowned, because in fact they _were_ required to do so, and leaned back. "Get out of my bubble," she snapped.

"No. Hurry up. In fact..." Scorpius pulled his wand out, waved it, and Lily's report began writing itself, her quill wriggling free of her grasp, and filling out the page. "There you go. Just sign the bottom."

Lily's mouth dropped open. "What did you do!?" she demanded. "This isn't my report, you idiot! And I did _not_ scream like a little girl when the lamp tried to bite me! Nor did I panic and almost lose my head!" She could feel her temper rising dangerously, her face burning red with her rage, and grit her teeth, telling herself it would be beyond foolish to grab her wand and curse the stupid, sexy smirk right off his fucking face.

"Close enough," Malfoy said. The quill brushed her hand. "Just sign the bottom."

"No!" she said, and stomped her foot, feeling dangerously close to angry tears.

And then Scorpius laughed at her. Threw his head back and let out good, hearty belly laugh. "Oh my fucking Godric," he gasped, laughing some more, and sat back in his chair. "Did you seriously just stomp your foot? What are you, like eleven?"

He laughed again and Lily took a deep breath, striving to ignore him, even as she pulled out her wand. She felt a smug sense of satisfaction when Malfoy stopped laughing. It had, admittedly, been several years, but Lily was no stranger to cursing Scorpius Malfoy point blank in the face. "It's the middle of the night," she said, tapping her report with her wand to change it into a semblance of the truth. "I'm tired. And I'm grouchy. And you, Malfoy, are a far too easy target." She tapped her report a few more times, and then inked her signature on the bottom at last, setting it in her Out tray.

"You're also sporting a case of phenomenal bedhead," he added and she narrowed hazel eyes dangerously, gripping her wand.

"So," she continued stiffly, as if he hadn't spoken, "you should probably shut up if you want to be able to see the sunrise."

Malfoy simply smiled. "You know," he said, standing up, and Lily hated that she had to tilt her head to maintain eye contact. "I think I must be getting into hallucinating levels of exhaustion, 'cause you're awfully cute when you're mad, Little Potter."

Lily's lip curled. "Too bad your inner ugliness is practically blinding all the time, Malfoy," she spat.

He chuckled and followed her out of the office toward the lifts that would lead to the Atrium and home. "Ouch," he drawled. "So mean. No wonder you're single," he teased. "Not too many blokes willing to put up with that notorious redheaded Weasley temper."

Lily merely flipped him off, because, even though she'd rather undergo the Cruciatus Curse than admit it, Malfoy wasn't wrong. There really weren't any men in her life that weren't blood relations who tolerated her temper and wanted to get her naked. And any that were, weren't exactly what she was interested in romantically.

"Ooh, no witty, scathing response?" Malfoy drawled from behind her. "Have I hit a nerve, then, Little Potter?"

"Jump off a fucking cliff," she snarled, and jammed the button for the lifts viciously.

Malfoy only chuckled. "Not one of your best, Potter."

"I hate you," she growled.

"The feeling might just be mutual," he said, grinning, dark grey eyes roving over her. "And for the record, those robes are awful."

Lily looked down at herself pointedly, because she actually rather liked these robes! And sure, she wasn't a toothpick, so of course they'd be a little big, just to hide her least favourite places, but they weren't _awful_. "What? They are not! I just bought these!"

Malfoy shrugged and stepped into the lift before her. "Really?" he said. "They're ugly, the colour is bad with your hair, and you kind of look like a man underneath." Lily stared at him, gaping, shocked beyond words and scathing retorts, because that was kind of really mean. And then the lift doors slid closed shut and Scorpius laughed as the lift descended and Lily was left staring at the golden grilles, mouth hanging open gormlessly. And just as she wished she could murder the sonofabitch, she realized it was probably for the best he'd stolen her lift and left her waiting, because she probably couldn't handle Azkaban. Even if it was what the sodding bastard deserved.

Lily spent the night tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, and threw her alarm clock across her bedroom when it went off, not even feeling a tiny bit better as the poor thing smashed against the wall and broke apart messily. She'd spent her entire night, at least the part that wasn't interrupted by a biting lamp, being heckled by Scorpius Malfoy, and now, three hours after the fact, she was no closer to feeling calmed down. And she was exhausted and irritable on top of it.

Instead of pulling the blanket over her head and pouting all day, like she wanted, Lily got out of bed, mended her alarm clock, and went to take a long hot shower. When the hot water cut out abruptly halfway through washing her hair, the redhead was certain it was going to be a bad day. When she stepped out of one of the many Floo fireplaces at the Ministry an hour later and Lily noticed a run in her magically enhanced, shaping pantyhose, it was confirmed. She should've just stayed in bed.

Instead of simply turning around and going home, though, Lily forged ahead, up to the Office for the Department of Oddities and the Unexplained. It was a division of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad and a branch of Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office combined that focused solely on fixing the bizarre problems that sometimes arose when magical artefacts stumbled into Muggle hands, or when Muggle objects were tampered with magically and presented a risk to unsuspecting Muggles. And while the pay was minimal, and the hours wacky at times, Lily thoroughly enjoyed her job for the most part, because there was always some new challenge, or a crazy experience to be had. Which wasn't to say it wasn't dangerous, because it could be, but the redhead had accepted long ago, after her first week on the job, she was a sucker for the adrenaline highs that came with the danger.

When Lily breezed in at last, chin held high, the office was still only sparsely populated. She was almost always among the first to arrive in the morning, because she was guaranteed a solid hour, maybe two, of peace. Because Malfoy almost never showed up before nine. However, moments after she sat at her desk, dropping her massive tote bag beside her chair, and pulled out the latest from her In tray, she caught a familiar whiff of delicious cologne, and Scorpius Malfoy drawled, "Morning, Little Potter."

Shock rendered her speechless for a moment as she stared at him in his lightweight outer robes, white button down and dark grey slacks all smacking of fashion and money, all perfectly stylish and tailored. She hated that a part of her couldn't help but be impressed he looked so fucking good first thing in the morning. And then Lily's brain caught up with her, and she snapped her mouth shut, frowning. "Apparently an early one for you. I don't think I've ever seen you here at this hour," she replied.

The blond grinned. "Aw, you wait to see when I'm going to come in? That's almost creepy stalker, but still awfully cute, Little Potter."

The redhead glared. "Let me guess, you only came in because you didn't have a bimbo in bed to distract you?" she said acidly.

Scorpius shrugged. "Probably," he said, and she rolled hazel eyes.

Before she could say a word, however, the Department Head's office door burst open, and the short, barrel chest and distinctly hairy Barry Balcombe exited, looking grouchy as ever. "Potter, Malfoy," he barked in his smoke ravaged voice above the minimal noise, and Lily jumped a little bit as Scorpius turned his head. Lily could count on one finger the number of times the man had barked her name like that, but didn't have enough fingers, or toes, to count how many times Scorpius had been hollered at. "My office, _now_!"

Lily jumped up as Balcombe marched back into his office, and Scorpius chuckled a little, rising fluidly. "Nervous?" he asked softly as Lily hurried toward her boss's office, and he followed with long legged ease beside her.

"Seriously, Avada Kedavra yourself," she hissed, then pasted on a meek smile as she crossed into Balcombe's office. It was messy and smelled of fresh coffee and stale cigar smoke.

"Sit," Balcombe barked. The chairs were covered, one in boxes of what looked like incident reports, the other in Balcombe's robes, a jacket, and hat. Lily Conjured a third chair and sat herself down, crossing her legs primly, waiting anxiously. Scorpius did the same, but lounged comfortably, putting his feet up on his boss's desk. Balcombe glared at him and grey eyes rolled as he put his feet back down.

"What now, Balcombe?" Malfoy drawled lazily.

Lily shot him a dirty look. "Sir?" she said, when Balcombe looked at her. He sat himself in his own chair behind his desk, leaning back thoughtfully.

"We've received information from several Muggle sources that there's a young couple in the outskirts of London, who just bought the house that once belonged to a rather deranged wizard with a twisted sense of humour. And they're due to move in in six weeks."

"Which wizard?" Malfoy asked, even as Lily's brow furrowed.

Balcombe scowled and glanced at a folder that was open before him. "Whitlock Forrester." Scorpius's mouth turned down, along with Balcombe's, and Lily tried to refrain from looking like she had no clue what they looked so disgruntled about with little success.

"I hate that bastard," Scorpius murmured.

"Join the club," Balcombe growled. "Guy should be locked away in a looney ward at St. Mungo's."

The redhead glanced between the two wizards, making a mental note to research Whitlock Forrester as soon as she could. "So what's the deal with the house?" Scorpius asked, face uncharacteristically, to Lily anyway, serious and thoughtful.

"That's the mission," Balcombe said, and looked at Lily again, who swallowed nervously. "Get the house, and whatever little tricks Forrester's left, Muggle safe and good to go before the newlyweds move in. Or at least have it fit enough for them to move in, and worry about details after."

Scorpius looked at Lily, a condescending brow lifting. "Is Potter being brought in for beautification after the fact?" he asked, and Lily narrowed her eyes at the arrogant blond pureblood, teeth gritting as she fought not to slap him silly.

"No," Balcombe said, sounding amused. Scorpius looked back at his boss warily. They both knew Malfoy was too good at what he did to be let go, and he took full advantage of that fact. "Potter's going to be your partner."

Lily sat in her chair, feeling numb at that proclamation. She'd rather Crucio herself! "Sir, I think-" the redheaded witch began, but then Malfoy was talking over her.

"Not bloody likely," he spat. "I'm not having the littlest Potter following me around. She could get killed, Balcombe, and she'll only slow me down." He rolled his eyes at his boss again.

The smaller wizard put his cigar in his mouth, chewing it. "Or, more likely, she'll save your arrogant ass," Balcombe snapped, and Lily flushed at the praise a little. Scorpius snorted with derision. "And since I'm still higher up the pay scale than you, Malfoy, I make the decisions."

Grey eyes narrowed dangerously. Lily licked her lips. "Sir, with all due respect, I'm flattered you think I can handle this, but I don't think-"

"See? She says herself she can't do it," Scorpius said matter of factly. Lily grit her teeth hard.

"Excuse me," she snarled, "I don't believe it was your turn to speak, Malfoy." She sucked in a furious breath through her nose, loathing Malfoy more than ever, her chest burning with rage that he thought her so utterly incompetent. "As I was saying, Mr. Balcombe," she continued, trying not to sound like a bitch to her boss, "I don't think Malfoy would be the best partner for me on this case." She paused to draw breath, then opened her mouth to speak.

"Too bad, Potter," Balcombe said easily. "You and Malfoy are two of the best I've got, so you both get to go. Don't fuck it up and do a good job, you might even get a promotion." His dark eyes flicked to Scorpius. "And I know with Potter, I don't have to reiterate the rules about undercover assignments," Balcombe growled.

Scorpius smirked. "I've told you a million times, Barry, I can't help it that witches throw themselves at me. And I'm only human. A man can only take so much begging for it."

Lily sneered silently, privately thinking that sounded awfully disgusting. What sort of witch worth her salt as a DOU agent would sleep with _Malfoy_ , let alone _beg_ him to have her? Even if he was gorgeous, and probably great in bed, he was also a complete and utter asshole, and she shook her head sadly, a little disheartened that the average woman fell for his false charms.

"Regardless," Balcombe said, and cleared his throat. "This shit's a big fucking deal. The little wife is the favourite niece of some old crone in the Muggle politics, and if there's a scandal, I'll fucking fire the both of you."

Lily gulped but Malfoy merely laughed. "Sure thing, Balcombe," he said.

The other wizard glowered menacingly at the pureblood, who stood up. "I'm fucking serious, Malfoy. Sit your ass down."

Malfoy sighed dramatically but sat. Lily fought a smirk. "What?" the blond said moodily.

Balcombe held out a folder to each of them. "Here's what we know so far. You start tomorrow morning, so you've got the next twenty four hours to read these through." Lily picked up the thick folder, feeling a tad nervous, despite her earlier confidence. Scorpius looked bored. "Your Ministry approved aliases are in there as well. You'll be posing as caretakers for the house, should you still be around when the Muggles move in."

"Unlikely," Scorpius murmured arrogantly. Lily hoped he was right, and her association with him would go back to as little as possible after the stupid bloody case.

"We'll see," Balcombe grunted, and put his cigar down, drinking his coffee. "Now get the hell out," he said gruffly, and Lily practically jumped to her feet, Vanished her chair, and all but scurried to the door. Scorpius snorted again, and followed much more sedately.

"Looks like I get to play baby sitter for a couple weeks," Scorpius said as Lily went back to her desk.

"Huh, I was about to say the same thing," she snapped, marching faster. Scorpius, with his long legs, kept pace evenly.

"Yeah right. You don't even know who Forrester is," Scorpius scoffed.

"Doesn't matter," Lily growled. "I'm still not going to need your help," she added imperiously, "but I have no doubts you'll need mine."

The blond pureblood grinned, then grasped her arm, halting her forward momentum abruptly, and hauled her against himself. Lily glared, shocked into speechlessness, and hated that her heart beat excitedly as he leaned in close. "There's only one thing I need from you, Lily," he rumbled, and Lily licked her lips, unable to help but glance at his full, sensual mouth.

"Oh?" she breathed weakly, her body responding in all the right ways to Scorpius's proximity and the almost touching of their bodies. The redheaded witch hated that fact, but couldn't ignore it.

"You bet," he rumbled, and leaned in impossibly closer, and Lily was half fearing, half hoping, he would kiss her. "Don't get in my way, don't get yourself killed, and please, at least try, to shut the hell up."

For a long moment, Lily merely stared at him, as he pulled back a little, and then realized she was an idiot. Why on earth or in the name of fucking Merlin would Scorpius even _want_ to kiss her? And better yet, why ever would she consider letting him!? After all this registered, she stepped away from him, looking far angrier than the pureblood had ever seen her.

"I hate you, Malfoy," she hissed viciously, and then, to his shocked surprise, slapped him across the face, and none too gently. "Go fuck yourself. ...And that was three things!" Scorpius watched her stomp back to her desk, and then turned around and headed for the exit. He had his next assignment, no point in sticking around. Not even if he'd just noticed, that when she got really, _really_ pissed, Lily Potter was kind of a babe. He reminded himself she was Al's nerdy little sister, and his latest partner for an undercover mission, and pushed the tempting thoughts of what her plump, angry mouth would've tasted like aside. He scowled as he got into the lift, flicking open the folder in his hands. He really did hate Whitlock Forrester, and his twisted sense of humour that always involved dead or tortured Muggles, and hoped to Merlin that Little Potter would, for once, not blunder into a mess of trouble. Although he knew that was in vain.

So instead, he thought about how best to get the job, whatever it may be, done quickly, and scanned vaguely over his undercover identity. He almost laughed aloud, because, unless he was hallucinating from lack of sleep, due to an ugly lamp that had tried to rip a chunk off his leg, he was pretty sure he'd be going undercover with Lily Potter as her husband. And while a part of him rejected the notion on principle, he found himself looking forward to the next morning as he strode into the Atrium. Because while he was displeased with the thought, he was positive Lily would be apoplectic with rage, all fired-up and righteous. And that would be fun to toy with, undoubtedly, even if he reckoned he might end up bearing the brunt of Lily's fury.

Maybe getting saddled with Little Lily Potter as his partner on this case wouldn't be so bad after all… Just maybe.

XXX


	2. Chapter 2

The Department of Oddities and the Unexplained

written by: albe-chan

 **DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational potion use and drinking, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily groaned as her alarm went off the next morning, dreading the coming day. It promised to be long, and unpleasant, and undoubtedly spent in the company of her least favourite wizard. The redhead switched off her fervent alarm clock and sat up in bed, rubbing a hand over her face, trying to convince herself it wouldn't be that horrible. She'd get to play at being a Muggle, which was always fun, and expanded her wardrobe choices tenfold, and despite everything she'd read about Whitlock Forrester, she was looking forward to the challenge of stripping the magic from his house. And even if she had to spend a day with Malfoy, that would be alright, because she could probably avoid him with all the work she imagined there'd be. Lily got up, heading for the shower, and squashed the tiny, traitorous part of her that was also the tiniest bit pleased she'd get to play at being Malfoy's wife.

Ten minutes later she was dressed and ready, and told herself again, sternly, the day would be great. They were to meet at the Ministry Atrium for nine in the morning, to take a specially arranged Portkey to the outskirts of London and the mansion they'd be calling home for the next six weeks. She lifted her bag, filled with all the things she reckoned she'd need for at least a month, and Apparated out of her humble one room flat to the Ministry.

Lily wasn't much surprised to find it busy when she finally got to the Atrium, or to see that Malfoy wasn't yet there by the fountain, where a Portkey Official waited, looking bored to tears. Lily pushed a few stray hairs that had escaped her messy French braid off her face, setting her bag down, and glanced at her watch. Still five to nine. By five after, she'd slumped onto the edge of the fountain and felt her impatience growing.

"This guy gonna take much longer?" the Portkey Official asked, looking down Lily's modest cleavage for the twelfth time as he did so.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Probably."

The Portkey guy sighed. "You wanna go get a coffee, doll?" he asked after another long moment. Lily blushed, feeling equally flattered and offended.

"No, thank you," she said primly.

The guy snorted. "Somehow I didn't think so," he mumbled. Lily's hazel eyes narrowed.

"Excuse me?" she demanded, falling back on anger instead of giving in to the urge to let the comment hurt her.

The Portkey guy shrugged, looking bored still. "No offence, lady, but you don't exactly scream 'hit on me'," he said.

Lily glared, looking pointedly down at herself. Respectable mint green button down blouse with capped sleeves that was only a couple sizes too big, well-loved and highly practical, considering her day's agenda, jeans, and her standard black flats. "And what the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" she snapped, standing up.

Before Portkey guy could answer, though, Scorpius Malfoy came striding over, looking like some kind of Muggle model with his crisp white button down shirt untucked and the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and fitted, dark wash jeans. "You're late," the Portkey Official grunted to Malfoy. The blond pureblood shrugged, overnight bag slung casually over his shoulder. Lily hefted her large tote.

"Late is merely a matter of perspective," Scorpius said dismissively. The Portkey Official pulled a rubber duck from his pocket, pointed his wand at it, and it glowed a bright blue for a moment.

"Well, you've got ten seconds," he said, handing the thing to them, then looked at Lily, who held the duck by the head, Malfoy holding its tail. "And I meant, undo a couple buttons, sweetheart, and stop scowling so damn much."

Lily opened to her mouth to reply, an insult on the tip of her tongue, even as Malfoy looked at her with interest, but then there was a sharp tug from behind Lily's navel region and she was sucked through time and space, the silly rubber duck guiding her to her latest mission. Her feet slammed hard into the ground a moment later, and Lily's heavy bag threw her off balance and into Scorpius's chest. He caught her lightly, keeping them both upright. "Sorry," she mumbled, pulling back, trying to ignore how good he smelled, and how warm and strong his chest felt to lean against.

"Godric Gryffindor's dirty whore, Potter," Scorpius said. "Trying to jump my bones already?"

The redhead shoved him away from herself as he laughed. "In your fucking dreams, Malfoy," she snarled, and turned away from him. Before her sat a grand old mansion, looking a little sinister in the morning sun, and she set her shoulders, hefted her bag, and marched forward.

She was stopped abruptly after only two determined strides by a strong, iron like hand on her shoulder. "Are you fucking daft, Potter?" Scorpius growled. "That's the best way to get yourself dead straight away," he said, sounding angry, and Lily glared. "Rule one when dealing with Forrester's handiwork. Take nothing for granted and trust nothing."

"Then are we just going to stand here all morning?" Lily snapped, hating that Scorpius sounded entirely logical with that first rule, and that he was probably right, and she'd almost walked headlong into danger.

"First things first," Malfoy said, smirking, and turned around, walking down the drive, past the house. Lily hastened after him. "I'm going to unpack."

Her brows shot up and she cast him a slightly shocked look. "What?"

"Rule number one of undercover missions," Scorpius tossed over his shoulder, still an infuriating half step ahead of her, "get comfortable first, and scope out the job."

Lily stared at him, agape, then realized she'd stopped dead, and hurried in his wake to a little cottage set at the very end of the drive, behind the house. Scorpius unlocked it with a wave of his wand, and Lily followed him over the threshold, braced for the worst. Instead, she walked into a quaint, homey little sitting room, with a narrow stairway to her right and a kitchen through a door across the little room. The tall blond ascended the stairs, his head almost brushing ceiling, and Lily went up behind him.

Panting with exertion a tiny bit after she reached the top of the narrow, steep stairs, the redheaded witch was struck by one startling conclusion. There was only one bedroom in this little cottage, and they were standing in it, because she couldn't fathom anything being beyond the bathroom she could see across the sloped roof room. And in the single bedroom, which seemed to take up all of the second floor, there was only one bed, a large, carved oak number, with a handmade quilt upon it.

"Well this is going to get annoying," Scorpius said, looking at the sloped sides of the ceiling except a two foot strip along the center.

Lily couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the fact there was only one bed, and nowhere else, so far as she could see, between the side tables, dresser and wardrobe also arranged in the room, for another. "You can have the living room, then," Lily said firmly. Surely they wouldn't be expected, even if they were pretending to be married, to share the same damn bed.

Scorpius snorted. "Not bloody likely," he replied, and moved toward the large bed, dropping his bag upon it. "There is no way I'm sleeping on that tiny excuse for a sofa for however long I'm stuck here with you," Malfoy added, unzipping his bag, moving toward the dresser.

The redhead could only stare. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," Lily huffed, beyond shocked and well into exasperation.

"Nope," Malfoy drawled, not looking at her. "Dibs on the top two drawers," he added, putting his things away efficiently. Lily felt her teeth gritting.

"I'm not sleeping on a couch either, and I'm not sleeping with _you_ ," she spat. "Be a gentleman!"

The blond pureblood cast her a disparaging look. "Going to sleep in the garden, then?" he tossed out. Lily's mouth fell open. She'd known Malfoy was a stubborn prick, but this was just downright rude! What sort of wizard didn't offer his female partner the bed on a mission!? "And if you were expecting a gentleman, you're looking at the wrong wizard, Little Potter."

"I hate you," she snapped, and stomped into the little bathroom. Dark grey eyes rolled as she slammed the door behind herself, but Scorpius smirked. The redhead paced, like a caged animal, in the little tiled room with it's clawfoot tub and sleek, pedestal sink, hating Scorpius as she started weighing her options. Her bag sat in front of the door, waiting to be unpacked, and part of her felt the need to do so, if only so Scorpius, the rat, didn't hog all the wardrobe space.

Instead, she ran through her options. Sleep outside? Hell no. She'd probably either get rained on that night, or eaten alive by bugs, even if she could magic some kind of shelter together. Option two, the couch in the sitting room. A better option, but it hadn't exactly looked in the best repair, and she knew, after only a couple nights, her back would be aching. She'd always been a stomach sleeper, at least to fall asleep, and that wasn't exactly easy on a little, questionably lumpy, overstuffed loveseat. She reckoned she could probably turn the couch into a little bed, but she didn't relish the thought of sleeping right there in the front room, either, and possibly being woken by Scorpius. Which left sleeping in the big bed in the next room. Probably with Scorpius. Lily shook her head, because that would be awful, she was certain. She'd probably drool on him or something, or possibly something even worse, like get her period, and she'd die from mortification. And Godric forbid she _farted_ in front of him. No, that simply _wasn't_ an option.

So that left her with one option as she saw it. Convince Malfoy he'd be better off never sleeping remotely close to her. Lily set her shoulders and mouth, hefted her bag, and went back out to the bedroom, then wished she hadn't.

Scorpius was standing in the middle of the room, shirt discarded and tossed casually over the footboard, belt undone, and unpacking clearly accomplished. Her mouth parted as she looked at him for a long moment, struck speechless. Much as she might hate him, Lily couldn't deny, half naked, he looked _really_ fucking good. All long lean muscles across his chest and shoulders, abdominal muscles clearly defined, and she couldn't help but wonder how he was so perfectly golden tan, and then wondered if the rest of him was too.

The blond pureblood looked at her when she finally dragged her gaze up to his, smirking, and Lily's face burned with her blush. "Bathroom free?" he asked, lifting a brow. The redhead, face the same colour as her hair, could only nod dumbly. Malfoy brushed past her, unbuttoning his jeans and making her heart rate kick up despite her best efforts. "You can look for free, but touching will cost you, Little Potter," he added in a teasing murmur, and she blushed even darker, because the gutter portion of her mind, that enjoyed depraved thoughts like touching a shirtless Malfoy, hoped the payment was him touching her.

She seemed to regain coherent thought when she heard the bathroom door click shut, and moved to start unpacking, trying to ignore the sound of the shower starting up. _Yeah right_ , she told herself firmly. There's no way he'd want that, certainly. And as Lily unpacked, finding that Scorpius had actually only used up a small portion of the wardrobe, and less than half the drawer space available, she wondered what the next few weeks, minimum, would be like. Despite being closer to thirty than she liked admitting, Lily hadn't ever lived with a man before. At least, not a straight one.

The redhead knew it was silly, but she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like. Of course, she'd heard the stories from her female cousins who were married, how their wizards were slovenly, sometimes uncouth, housemates, but Lily simply couldn't picture Scorpius like that. Sure, he was a first class asshole and absolute prick, all around, but somehow Lily doubted she'd ever walk in and find him drinking beer in his boxers, belching and scratching his privates. Then again, if she did, she'd probably just commute home every night.

She filled the rest of the drawer space, and wardrobe, trying not to feel pleased the blond had left her just enough space, and moved to sit on the bed, testing it's comfortability by bouncing lightly. She was looking forward to sleeping there that night. Alone.

The bathroom door opened, and Malfoy drawled, "That's my side, Little Potter." Her hazel eyes narrowed.

"No. You're going to sleep downstairs," she said lightly, and then looked up, breath catching in her throat.

Scorpius was still damp from the shower, his blond hair almost falling into dark grey eyes, and wearing nothing except a shell pink towel wrapped casually around his hips, and she couldn't help but admire his perfection once more, while noting his legs, at least, were as golden tanned as the upper half. "Think again, Little Potter."

Lily swallowed thickly trying to ignore the blast of heated arousal she felt, second guessing the sensibility of being on this mission in the first place. She reminded herself she was the best witch for the job, and she deserved a promotion from this, and she could definitely resist Scorpius effing Malfoy, manwhore and prick extraordinaire. "I'm serious," she said. "You can barely even stand up in here. Might as well not risk smashing your head to go to the loo in the middle of the night."

Scorpius chuckled, moving to the chest of drawers. "Regardless, I'm not sleeping anywhere but that very comfortable looking bed, and that's my side," Scorpius murmured. "Besides, the only bathroom is up here. I'd probably smack my head anyway."

The redheaded witch forced a shrug, getting up as Scorpius pulled out clothes, obviously meaning to dress. "Well I'm not sleeping anywhere but here either," she said stubbornly, certain that after just one measly little night, which she could totally handle, Scorpius wouldn't want anything to do with her in bed. She'd been told before, by her ex, she snored loud, and had a habit of stealing the covers. And she intended to make sure Malfoy complained of the same thing, so she could make him see it was easier for him to just sleep in the damn sitting room.

She went to the staircase, and Scorpius snorted. "This is going to be fun," he murmured, almost as if to himself, and Lily looked back at him, blushing when he dropped the towel. He was facing away from her, but seeing his arse, which confirmed her suspicion he was indeed tan _everywhere_ , was enough to have her boiling, bright red again.

"It's going to be a nightmare for you," she whispered, turning away before looking at his very fine naked ass turned into ogling it, and smiled a little to herself.

The redhead checked out the tiny kitchen when she went back downstairs, ascertaining they needed food, and bad, because there was nothing but an unidentifiable container of something in the icebox and a box of instant hot cereal that was two years expired in the cupboard. There was an ancient gas stove that made her feel wary, a big farmhouse sink she loved, despite a good number of chips around the edges, and butcher block countertops. It felt like something her Nan would have, if she didn't have her sprawling farmhouse or so many children underfoot all the time.

The icebox was slightly newer than the stove, but still definitely vintage, and the peel and stick tiles on the floor were rolling up at the corners ever so slightly. In short, it was alright, but she could definitely make it better. She thought fleetingly of the mansion, half terrified of what that kitchen would contain, and swallowed nervously. First things first, she would start on something she was fairly positive wouldn't kill her. Rustling up _something_ edible.

Scorpius Malfoy came down the stairs, changed from the clothes he'd gone out in the night before and hastily tugged on before Apparating into work. Of course, he'd gone home with a delightfully kinky little brunette witch, whose name was definitely either Lisa or Liz, and had a long, satisfying night, not to mention a thoroughly enjoyable wake up call that wound up making him late. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, hearing something that sounded like wizarding radio, and turned to go into the kitchen, then saw Lily at the big gas stove, cooking something that smelled like it was burning.

The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. "What is that Godric awful smell?"

Her head whipped round so fast he was positive she must've cricked it. "Excuse me?" she demanded. Scorpius glanced behind her and frowned.

"What in the bleeding fuck are you trying to cook?" he asked, trying not to cringe at the slightly blackened circles of what he supposed were meant to pass as pancakes. "Please don't say pancakes."

"I'm not _trying_ to cook anything," the redheaded witch snapped, snatching up her wand off the counter. "I _am_ cooking pancakes. This stove is temperamental, so the first few got a little burned, but on the whole, considering what I had to work with, I don't think they'll be all that bad. And if you don't like it, make your own food!"

Scorpius glanced at her bowl of lumpy batter, then at the stove, where she had the gas turned up too high, and shook his head. "Get out of the way, Potter," he said, stepping forward and making shooing motions. "Godric, I never thought a woman with Weasley genetics would be a lousy cook, but there you are," he drawled.

Lily stared at him, mouth parted, and dark grey eyes dropped to the wand she clenched. "I beg your fucking pardon?" she growled.

"Did I stutter?" he said, moving in front of the stove as she stepped aside. "Your mother makes pancakes that taste like fluffy clouds from heaven," he said. "Your grandmother makes _everything_ taste like it's from heaven. And even your cousin Rose can whip up a passable breakfast without burning anything." Scorpius smirked a little, because he hadn't thought about that morning in a long while, and he had to admit, it might have been the best breakfast he'd had from a woman he'd spent the night with and had no intentions of owling or seeing again. He turned down the heat on the stove and looked up at Lily, whose mouth was parted, hazel eyes wide. "What's the deal with you?"

She flinched a tiny bit, then her mouth snapped shut. "Nothing," she growled. "I have a job, and a life, and neither of them involve cooking for assholes," she snapped. "And," she said heatedly, puffing up defensively, even as he reached for the bowl of batter that looked distinctly unappealing, "I had crap all to work with!"

The blond pureblood rolled his eyes. "Then do me a favour and get out of the kitchen, Potter," he said dismissively. Lily's cheeks went red, a sure sign he'd pushed her to the boiling point of anger, and Scorpius felt distinctly amused at how pissed she was that he'd offended her kitchen skills, or lack thereof. "I'll handle this."

Lily stared at the arrogant bastard for a long moment, not only shocked that he was so bloody _rude_ , which shouldn't be a surprise anymore, but also that he thought he could do any better with her poorly Transfigured batter. She set her shoulders and pushed her hair off her slightly sweaty forehead. "Fine," she snarled, and stomped back through the kitchen and sitting room to the stairs. "When you get food poisoning, don't come crying to me, jerk face," she muttered as she stomped up the stairs. She went and took a long hot shower, trying to de-stress already, and felt a sense of foreboding. It had been less than two hours, and already, she wanted to murder Malfoy. How the hell was she supposed to handle multiple _weeks_ with him!?

But she would figure it out. She just wouldn't let the bastard get to her anymore. She could be the bigger person, surely, and turn the other cheek, even when he was being impossibly douche-tastic, and then she'd get her promotion. And it would be worth it, damn it! Hell, it would be a piece of cake! She climbed out of the shower, feeling much better, and wrapped a towel turban style around her head, the way her cousin Rose had taught her when she was nine, then a second around her body.

Lily defogged the mirror, then dried herself efficiently, pointedly avoiding glancing at the reflection of her loathsome belly and what she considered an abundance of extra fat cushioning her thighs. "Bollocks," she murmured, as she reached for lotion and found nothing. She must've put it down in the bedroom and forgotten it. She hurriedly rewrapped her towel, turning herself into a rectangle of shell pink terrycloth from breasts to upper thighs, and marched out of the bathroom to get her lotion, which she was certain she'd left packed in her toiletries bag, and yet couldn't find.

She sighed, spotting it sitting rebelliously atop the dresser, and turned in the doorway and made to go get it, and then Scorpius said, from the direction of the stairs, "Oh, you are done."

The redhead couldn't help it, and screamed on instinct as she whirled around, and then shouted, "What the fuck are you doing!?"

Dark grey eyes roved over her, from head to foot, and Lily couldn't help the gush of arousal as his gaze perused her, then met her hazel eyes once more. "Seeing if you're done trying to drown your sorrows over being a lousy cook. Pancakes are done." The redheaded witch could only blink, heart pounding. "I'll save you some," Scorpius said, smirking the tiniest bit, and then turned and headed back down the stairs.

After a long moment, Lily's brain kicked back into action, face going an ear burning shade of red she was fairly certain might be permanent, and quickly donned her clothes again, feeling awkward. She bit her lip, not wanting to ever go back downstairs and face Malfoy _ever_ again, but she knew there was no avoiding it. So she swirled her damp hair into a bun atop her head, shrugged into a large, oatmeal coloured cardigan that hid her shape and made her feel safe, and then the redhead steeled her flagging courage and went downstairs. She first noticed that the whole sitting room smelled _amazing_. Like walking into her mother's kitchen on Sunday morning for breakfast. Like hot, buttery pancakes, and coffee, and the tiniest hint of sweet syrup. Her mouth watered traitorously, and then she looked into the kitchen, seeing Scorpius Malfoy sitting at the little table, the Daily Prophet on his lap, eating without looking up from the paper.

Before she could stop herself, the words tumbled out. "How the hell do _you_ know how to cook?"

The blond pureblood glanced up, smirked as his eyes roved down her once more, and shrugged. "It's not hard once you learn the basics," he teased.

Lily felt her temper flare at that, but she couldn't help but still feel embarrassed he'd walked in on her almost naked. And the redhead knew it was something they'd obviously have to address. "Look," she said, moving forward and sitting down across the table from him, in front of a plate of pancakes that were golden and fluffy, "about when you came upstairs," she began and tried not to be distracted by the food.

Scorpius smirked. "Potter," he said, lifting a brow condescendingly, "do you really think I haven't seen my fair share of women in even less than what you had on?"

Her face burned again, and she gulped. "Obviously," she muttered, because he was damn good looking, and she was willing to bet he'd all but lost count of the number of naked women he'd seen. "But still, we're partners, and I'd like to maintain a level of professionalism while we're here," she said firmly.

Dark grey eyes rolled. "Duly noted, Little Lily," he drawled, then looked back at his paper, flipping the page. The redhead grit her teeth, but began pouring syrup on her pancakes anyway. She would simply forget about that embarrassingly little hiccup and move past it. "Besides," Scorpius said, stabbing another forkful of his own pancakes, "you're Al's little sister, and no offence, but even if you _were_ naked, I probably wouldn't be interested."

Lily almost dropped her fork, because that was _mean,_ and she bit her tongue as the hurt burned into anger. _Of course not, because I'm not a damn stick_. "Good," she replied frostily, and saw his mouth curve up before she dug into her pancakes. "Because even if you were, no offence," she said acidly, "I'd rather cut my right hand off than have your interest, Malfoy." She took a bite of pancakes and held in a groan, because they were warm, and buttery, and fluffy, and almost as good as her Nan's. Hell, they might have even been better than her mother's. "But thanks for cooking," she said grudgingly, biting back the temptation to admit his cooking was actually rather good.

"You're welcome," he said softly, and glanced up as Lily's eyes closed in relish and smothered the foolish urge to grin. "Sure as hell beats starving to death, or having you cook, Potter."

Lily glared, but as her mouth was full, didn't reply, focusing on eating, because she was hungry after skipping breakfast. But she couldn't help, even though she hated herself a tiny bit for it, thinking that it was almost a pity Malfoy would never be interested in her naked. Because although it was stupid, she couldn't help but think that the bed upstairs would probably be just the right size to have hot, wild sex with Malfoy in. She shook her head, sighed softly, and ate with gusto. _That's why they make ice cream_. She didn't see the way dark grey eyes slid over her once more, and if she could've read Scorpius's thoughts, she would've been shocked stupid, certainly.

Because the blond pureblood, although he loathed himself for thinking it, couldn't help but wonder what had been hidden by that shell pink towel, and think that it was a shame he'd been saddled with his best friend's younger sister as his partner. Because if she'd been anyone else, Scorpius wouldn't have minded at all putting the effort into wooing Lily Potter into bed with him. Because her long, creamy legs, and the soft curves of her modest cleavage had enticed him beyond measure, and he was willing to bet whatever was under her towel would be pretty decent. He shook his head and stared blankly at the paper, telling himself he was an idiot, because even if Lily Potter wasn't Al's little sister, there was no way in hell she'd want to get naked with him. She'd all but said so already. So he'd simply put her from his mind, and focus on the task at hand, his job, and nothing else. And it would be simple, because _really_ , it was Little Lily Potter.

XXX


	3. Chapter 3

The Department of Oddities and the Unexplained

written by: albe-chan

 **DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational potion use and drinking, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily woke the next morning, feeling stiff and sore, and distinctly irritated. She'd gone to bed early, if only to avoid the awkward moment where she and Scorpius would both be in the large bed together, but sleep had proven thoroughly elusive. She blamed it on the bloody blond pureblood. He'd firmly stated there was no point, after they'd finished lunch, in going into the house until the next day, so Lily had paced the little cottage, cleaning and grumbling to herself, while the lazy sod had taken a nap. And when she couldn't stand being cooped up indoors a moment longer, she'd gone outside only to find the little garden behind the cottage in perfect order. Not even so much as a leaf out of place, let alone weeds.

So, wanting to channel her restlessness into something productive, she'd meandered up to the main house, scoping out the exterior and the wildly overgrown section of bush she supposed was meant to be the garden. Only to have Malfoy sneak up on her, scare her nearly to death, and then yell at her for trying to do the job alone. And despite the screaming match that ensued, Lily had still been far too keyed up to sleep properly. She'd tossed and turned all night until finally dropping off to sleep sometime before Scorpius came upstairs.

But even her sleep hadn't been satisfactory. Not being used to sleeping anywhere but her own bed at home, let alone with another human being, let alone a _man_ , Lily had woken frequently, and felt distinctly unrested because of it. And she felt sore, because she'd forced herself, after waking the third time and finding herself dangerously close to snuggling with an unconscious Scorpius Malfoy, to remain in a tightly curled ball beneath the blanket and sheet, which she'd purposely hoarded to herself.

And now, nine hours after turning in, she was stiff and sore and kind of pissed off now that she thought about it. Because Scorpius was still lying on his back, one arm behind his head casually, one hand resting lightly on his stomach beneath the plain white sheet he'd obviously Conjured for himself. And the fucking asshole, bastard motherfucker looked absolutely peaceful, drawing steady, even breaths beside her, oblivious to her irritation and temper, sleeping soundly and looking like a fallen angel doing it.

His blond hair was tousled carelessly across his forehead, a section of his tanned, flawless torso available for ogling, and it took a concerted effort on Lily's part to look away and resist the temptation to stare, blatantly. She told herself firmly she wasn't interested, although her libido knew she was lying.

So instead of staring at, and probably drooling over, Scorpius bloody Malfoy, Lily got out of bed, rubbing her tired eyes, and shuffled to the bathroom. It wasn't until she'd pulled down her pyjama bottoms and knickers and plopped down on the loo that she realized she hadn't done a single thing to stop Scorpius from thinking her a bad bedmate. Of course, after that thought, which made her mouth part, Lily couldn't help but think maybe she should've just stayed sprawled all over Scorpius while she slept, if only to scare him off, of course. Or maybe even done something awful, like snore too loud, not that she could precisely control that. And yet when she snuck a greedy, traitorous glance back at the long, lean, well muscled blond when she went back into the bedroom once finished, he still looked utterly peaceful. _Godric damn him_!

She went downstairs first thing, to put on coffee that Scorpius had somehow, miraculously, made appear, then took her morning cup back upstairs, leaving it on the vanity and making sure she had her clothes before going to shower. A half hour later, all clean and washed and dressed for the day in comfortable, slightly stretchy black yoga pants and a big loose sweatshirt over her faded The Weirder Sisters tee, Lily felt much more awake.

Scorpius was still asleep, looking flawlessly at peace, and she glared and stomped downstairs for more coffee, pacing and brooding in the little kitchen. She wanted to get to work, preferably soon, but she loathed the thought of waiting around for Scorpius to wake up and get ready. Lily had a feeling if she went up to the house, the blond pureblood would do his nut, for sure, but she couldn't stand the waiting. And after all, she'd read all the case files on Whitlock Forrester's handiwork, and she was fairly certain she could handle herself. So after telling herself firmly everything would be perfectly fine, Lily got her wand, donned her trainers, and set out for the main house to start work at last.

Scorpius woke to the sound of the front door closing, sitting bolt upright in bed. He paused, but there was no sound of intruder, and although he glanced around, seeing no Lily, he could only assume it had been the redhead. But why would she go outside? He told himself he was simply being paranoid, because she'd probably just stepped out for a moment, probably to wander around back into the cottage garden.

He tried to lay back down to go back to sleep, but despite getting comfortable and closing his eyes, shutting his brain down to sleep, the thought niggled. What if Lily, against all odds, and against his strict advisement not not venture inside, or even _near_ , alone, had gone up to the house, like a stupid Gryffindor? He couldn't, in good conscience, sleep without at least affirming the fiery redhead wasn't that dumb.

Scorpius sighed, got up, and dressed quickly, stuffed his feet into shoes and went downstairs. He saw coffee, which, he had to admit, was nice waking up to already brewed, but still no Lily. The blond stretched, skipped the coffee, and headed out back. And with a sinking feeling in his stomach, Scorpius turned to go up to the main house. Because there was no Lily anywhere near the little cottage, and he could just fucking _bet_ she was dumb enough to think she could handle it alone. He wanted to scream, but simply cursed, fluently, instead, and put on some speed as he hustled toward the large, looming mansion that looked utterly harmless, if a shade run down, on the outside.

He felt something akin to dread settle like lead in his stomach when he got around to the front of the house and saw the front door, which he knew for a fact hadn't been like that the previous day, hanging wide open. His mind jumped to the worst possible conclusions, but he firmly shoved his fears aside. He had to keep a clear head, and get Lily, and make sure she wasn't hurt, or worse. Scorpius didn't let himself think about anything else other than that simple goal. Get Lily and get her the hell out of there, if only so he could bloody curse her himself. He climbed sagging porch steps and took a deep breath of stale air and the lingering smell of mice and mildew from within the house. And, even though he was confident in his abilities, he felt almost sick as he crossed the threshold and the remnants of Whitlock Forrester's magical presence weighed him down heavily.

He could all but feel his heart beating in his throat, wand poised, and he moved forward cautiously. The front entrance hall was barren, save for peeling wallpaper that drooped pitifully and the dustiest, most cobwebbed chandelier he'd ever seen, and a grand staircase that obviously lead upstairs. Scorpius paused, glancing into a doorway that smelled like it might be to the kitchen. He took a cautious step forward and then heard a scream behind him, his heart jumping as adrenaline shocked through him, and he focused himself before moving steadily, but still cautiously, toward the other doorway across the hall. There was another scream, and Scorpius felt his gut clench, because it was definitely female, and his instincts told him it was Lily.

He pushed the left hand door to what was revealed to be the parlour open, and saw Lily smiling at a mirror while her reflection screamed and pounded on the mirror in the reflection. Scorpius reacted without thought, even as the Lily facing the mirror turned toward him, raising her wand, and Stupefied the reflection Lily. "Are you fucking daft, Potter?" he panted, pausing to make sure nothing else was forthcoming. He Levitated Mirror Lily up, and looked at the ground as he said to the real Lily, trapped inside the mirror, "You have to switch back. When you make eye contact, you'll have to jump out." Scorpius faced Lily with the mirror image of herself, still avoiding eye contact, and suddenly, the body jolted forward, falling from Scorpius's control, and Lily stumbled out, panting, on all fours on the ground. "Are you fucking daft!?" Scorpius hissed again. "Merlin's fucking balls, Lily!"

"Sorry," she said, sitting back on her haunches. "I don't even know why I looked at that mirror. I don't really like looking-" She broke off.

"It's enchanted." Scorpius pointed his wand over his shoulder, right at the mirror, and said firmly, " _Reducto_!" The mirror cracked and crumbled off the wall, falling face down, shards of glass everywhere, and Lily shivered as a chill of foreboding, as if the house realized they were invaders and was preparing to get them, passed over her. "And you could've at least woken me, especially with coffee, if you wanted to go exploring, Potter."

The redhead grit her teeth, because she didn't like the know-it-all, condescending tone Scorpius was talking to her in, and she _certainly_ didn't like that he kind of had every right to, considering he'd just saved her ass. "I said sorry," she replied stiffly, standing up checking herself for injury and her wand for damage.

"Duly noted, Potter, now can we please get the fuck out of here so I can have some damn coffee?" Scorpius said even as he started to the doorway. "Then if you want to try to get yourself cursed or worse, I'm game."

She followed him back outside and into the sunshine, an awkward silence laced with tension billowing between them. "I'm sorry," she said at last and once more, just as they reached the little path that lead to the front door of their shared accommodation.

"You should be," Scorpius replied, and glanced across at her. "You could've been stuck in that bleeding mirror forever, with some version of yourself wreaking havoc on the world in your stead."

Lily grit her teeth. "It won't happen again," she said tersely, avoiding his eyes.

"I should bloody well hope so," he grumbled as they went inside and he went to imbibe the necessary cup of coffee for functionality. "Bloody hell," Scorpius muttered, shaking his head after the first sip.

Lily felt her carefully controlled temper snap. "I said I'm sorry, for Godric fucking _Gryffindor's_ sake! What the hell else do you want me to say!?"

Scorpius glared at her, lowering his coffee cup from where he'd been about to take a sip, dark grey eyes roving over her searchingly. "How about 'thank you'?" he finally suggested in a cold tone that cut worse than anger could've, and her lip curled as he lifted an arrogant, condescending brow at her lack of response. "I'd even settle for an 'I appreciate that you didn't let me fucking _die_ '," he continued blandly. "And a solemn 'You were right to tell me to wait' would even scrape by."

Lily scoffed, tossed her hair, and stomped away, going upstairs. She didn't want to listen to him. She'd made a rookie mistake, sure, but now that she'd gotten her nerves out of the way, tested the waters of her latest assignment as it were, the redhead was more than prepared for whatever the bloody house could throw at her now. And she wanted to go right back in. Instead, she paced, looking moody, and mumbled to herself all the awful, mean, hurtful things she wished she could've said to Scorpius, but hadn't thought of nearly in time.

When her pacing had slowed and the mumbling died out, there came a soft set of footfalls up the stairs. Lily tempered the urge to hide in the bathroom, if only so she wouldn't have to look at Scorpius's damnable face, because she was a Gryffindor, damn it! "What do you want?" she asked in a mostly civil tone.

There was a long pause and Lily finally glanced up at Scorpius. "Are you still angry?"

She shrugged. "Not really."

Scorpius paused, his brooding eyes assessing her again, and she felt a shiver try to wriggle up her spine. "Are you ready to go back?"

Lily pursed her mouth for a beat, but nodded. "Yes," she said quietly.

"Then we should go and try to start on that godawful mausoleum."

The redhead smirked a little bit, but then squashed it, and they headed back downstairs and up to the massive house once more. Lily knew, now, she had to have a plan going in, and although she wasn't precisely good at cooking, she was great at Cleaning Charms, being a sometimes messy person. And she knew precisely, from the time they'd gone back to her father's inherited, creepy old pureblood house, in Grimmauld Place, to clean it after a twelve year absence, just how to tackle an out of control kitchen. Her mother had taken the job so seriously, Lily was certain she'd never forget the army-like instructions from her mind.

"I'm going to the kitchen," she said in a quiet, decisive voice as they ascended the sagging porch steps.

Scorpius lifted a brow. She wanted to start in the bloody kitchen? Why in the name of Merlin would she start _there_!? "The kitchen?" he repeated.

Lily nodded decisively, squaring her shoulders as the house breathed it's menace out the still-open front door. "Yes. The sooner the better," she said firmly, and gestured for Scorpius to take the lead. The blond smirked, then waved his hand gallantly.

"After you."

Lily walked, head held high, into the house, gulping a tiny bit as the menacing aura of the presence of Dark Magic washed over her. She braved onward like a true Gryffindor, though, wand drawn and at the ready. Five minutes later, she was pushing open the door the the kitchen, ducking on instinct, barely dodging a hurled, rancid container of something that had long since been inedible. Behind her, Scorpius barely deflected the projectile, and as Lily slid sideways into the room, crouching down lower, dodging the second assault, she fought the urge to chuckle as the blond pureblood grunted as the next spoiled food attack made direct contact with his shirt.

"Keep moving," she said, rolling to the other side of the door, hazel eyes darting around, trying to gauge how many neutralizing charms she'd need for the apparently rampaging food ghoul. Lily had encountered the same thing at Grimmauld Place all those years ago. A loud splat told her Malfoy had been too slow, and the ghoul obviously had stellar aim. She dodged an attack of what she was positive used to be spaghetti bolognese, flicked her wand toward the icebox, a common haunt for food ghouls, and growled, even as a mouldy loaf of bread came at her, " _Impugnare malum cibum!_ "

All at once, the barrage ceased, and a low, keening wail echoed through the large kitchen space, and then silence enveloped the red. She'd done it! She'd actually banished a ghoul! She glanced over at the blond pureblood, grinning at her own achievement, and then had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. Because Scorpius, holding his wand and looking furious, was spattered with something slimy, all over the left side of his neck and face, making it obvious he'd turned away just in time, even if he'd been unable to avoid attack. And it smelled like it had died a long time ago. "You couldn't have done that before?" Scorpius growled.

Lily's smile twitched into a teasing smirk for a second. "Maybe, but if I'd missed, it would've only gotten worse I reckon," she said, and then had to bite her lower lip as Scorpius glared at her, even as some part of her decided he looked kind of way too fucking sexy for her own good when furious. Even covered in stinky rotting food. " _Evanesco!_ " she added, and with a lazy wave of her wand, cleaned the food from him, although the smell and stains lingered.

"This is fucking ridiculous," Scorpius said tugging at his filthy shirt, and the redhead shrugged, moving into the kitchen properly. She held her wand aloft, on guard, but Lily felt confident nothing else would be as hard to deal with. She'd had more than enough practice at Twelve Grimmauld Place, after all, and she'd had further practice with anything else since joining the Department of Oddities and the Unexplained.

"Maybe you should go take a shower," Lily said, not trying to sound amused. It was hard when silent laughter wracked her as she glanced back at Scorpius over her shoulder. "Or at least perform some Cleaning and Freshening Charms." Scorpius scowled at her, his dark grey gaze narrowing. "Just saying," the redhead said, unable to help grinning, and turned back to face the kitchen. "Either way, I've got this from here."

"Yeah right, Potter," Scorpius said in a wintry drawl, his tone scathing, but Lily shrugged.

"Then stay out of my way," the redhead said gruffly, and waved her wand decisively. Instantly, the dirty dishes strewn about the room gathered in the sink, as hot water and some kind of pink bubbles frothed around the filthy china and silverware. Another slash of the redhead's wand had the floor being magically swept, a mop following in its wake, and a feather duster went to work on the cobwebs that gathered in every available corner.

The blond wizard, despite not wanting to be, was impressed, and felt his anxieties lessen. It was almost disgustingly apparent Lily could handle herself in a kitchen, even if the witch was far from a good cook. _At least if she's here, she's not getting into mortal peril again._ Scorpius backed out of the kitchen doorway, and wandered across the hall, back to the parlour. It was as good a place as any to start.

He thought, fleetingly, of Lily again, but shook his head free of thoughts of the temptingly competent redhead, and focused on his surroundings. He couldn't afford to spare his unwilling partner a single thought when dealing with the legacy of Whitlock Forrester, and Scorpius wasn't fool enough to imagine otherwise. Lily had said she could handle herself, and he had to believer that while he focused on his own work.

 _And besides, it's not like I actually care. If Little Potter thinks she can handle it, let her try_.

While Scorpius was pushing back into the parlour, to finally clear it properly, Lily was setting the kitchen to rights in a way she was certain her mother, and grandmother, would approve of. While the filthy dishes were cleaned, the floor was being brought back to life by a very well Charmed mop that attacked the antique tile with gusto, the curtains and mouldy tablecloth had been Vanished and replaced, and the furniture was being brought back to life with the aid of a diligent polishing rag. The cabinets full of, undoubtedly cursed, dishes, Lily tackled personally.

She cast every last one of them with a revealing spell to determine if it was safe, and performed as many counter curses as she thought the china could withstand, even though a good deal of it broke under impact. Some she gave up on and smashed altogether, unable to break the dark, Muggle repelling curses. By the time she finished, the redheaded witch had managed to salvage one decent set of china that matched, and reckoned it wasn't a bad payoff for a morning's work.

But even as she looked out the tiny window, trying to gauge where the sun was, which shone valiantly through the still-dirty pane of glass, her stomach rumbled and she realized it must have been later than she thought. She carefully wrapped up her work, nodding in satisfaction that the room had definitely improved, and headed out. She turned the corner, intending to walk straight down to the cottage and see if there might be anything fit for a late breakfast, and walked almost directly into none other than Scorpius.

Her face smashed into the still stained and definitely smelly shirt he'd donned that morning, and she would've toppled over if not for the pair of strong hands that caught her by the tops of her arms, steadying her. "Whoa, Potter, trying to jump me _again_?" drawled a familiar voice, even as Lily pulled out of the tall blond wizard's embrace and glared up at Scorpius.

"Oh shut up, Malfoy," she snapped back, tugging on her over sized blouse as she tried to stifle the pink flush in her cheeks. "I'm starving. What do you say we stop to eat?"

Dark grey eyes roved over her, making the redhead fold her arms across her midsection self consciously, but then Scorpius nodded, even as the thoughts Lily tried to quell and push away when they arose about her body image began whispering across the back of her mind. At last, the blond finally said, "I could eat," and gestured vaguely toward the front door. Lily quickly headed back to the cottage, hoping Scorpius was going to cook again, even as she tried to block out her not so nice inner monologue that pondered whether Scorpius was actually hungry, or just wanted to see if she was going to stuff her face. "I was thinking," Scorpius said as they reached their newfound, shared little home for the duration of their mission, "we're going to probably have to pick up supplies tomorrow."

"Supplies?" Lily repeated stupidly, blinking up at the handsome blond wizard after being jarred from telling herself she was only going to have a light snack, because she could probably do to lose a few pounds over the next few weeks.

"Yes, supplies," Scorpius said. "You know, for the next fortnight or so? I don't know about you, but I'm getting the feeling Forrester's latest little fun house is going to take a few weeks to get into order, judging by the number of furniture pieces that have already tried to kill me."

Lily's mouth dropped open. "Oh," she said, then nodded, mouth snapping shut as she followed Scorpius into the kitchen. "Makes sense," she muttered.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I don't know about you, Potter, but I refuse to live on pancakes indefinitely, and I only brought so much coffee."

"Sure thing, we can do that tomorrow. Are you going to cook now?"

Scorpius lifted a brow, then rolled grey eyes again, because he had a feeling having to live with Lily, who apparently wasn't very nice when hungry, or talkative, was going to drive him bonkers. "Sure," he said, then smirked at her, folding his arms. "As soon as you do the dishes for me, Little Potter, I'll be glad to." He left her sputtering at the sink, full of yesterday's dishes, and headed to the lounge to read for a bit in the meantime. He might go bonkers living with Lily, sure, but he'd make sure she did first.

XXX


	4. Chapter 4

The Department of Oddities and the Unexplained

written by: albe-chan

 **DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational potion use and drinking, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Six Weeks Later

Lily paced the bedroom of the little cottage she shared with her partner on their so far hellish case for the Department of Oddities and the Unexplained. They'd been dispatched to deal with Whitlock Forrester's recently sold house, bought by a Muggle couple, and rigged by Forrester, who Lily had decided was definitely fucking insane, to kill whoever bought it after him. And now, even though they'd dealt with the most lethal boobytraps and unexpected surprises from the furnishings, the Muggle owners were set to move in. And Lily was beyond anxious, because she couldn't help but feel they were nowhere close to being ready.

There was still the cellar, which she'd forayed into once and never again wished to experience, and the attic, which was next on her exploration and de-magicking list. They'd been heavily warded completely against the Muggles who were due to arrive sometime that day. She ran through her mental checklist of what was already, for sure, completely and utterly safe. There was the front foyer, the kitchen, the parlour, the stairs, the master suite and adjoining lavatory, a couple of the bedrooms, and, as of last night, the dining room.

But she couldn't forget her anxieties. There was still the half finished library, the almost finished conservatory, a couple guest rooms and what Lily suspected was a nursery on the west wing of the house, the attic, and, of course, the seemingly never ending battle Scorpius was waging in the cellar.

She was beginning to think it was making him crazy, because he'd been increasingly nice to her, and even charming at times, and it was almost starting to freak her out. Not that she was complaining, really, because a nice Scorpius Malfoy was a decidedly pleasant change from the arrogant prick she was used to, but definitely still not something she was accustomed to.

"Stop pacing," came his voice from the direction of the bed. Lily frowned.

"I can't," she said moodily, and glanced up at him leaning back against the headboard, his long legs stretched before him as he sat atop the covers, book open in his lap. She scowled a little, because he seemed, and had seemed this entire time they'd been on their mission, utterly relaxed. He rolled with whatever came at him when they worked, but when they were in the comfortable confines of the little cottage that they were temporarily calling home, he was the epitome of sloth. "Doesn't it bother you, knowing they could just walk into something awful at any moment?" she asked, and bit her lower lip. "What if something goes wrong? What if we missed something? What if there's some kind of elaborate curse that senses magical prowess, or lack thereof, and only targets Muggles?" she asked rapidly.

Malfoy rolled dark grey eyes, slouching a little against pillows he'd propped up. "What if it starts raining Fizzing Whizbees? What if the Minister of Magic loses the next election to a duck? What if you keep pacing so damn long you fall right through the bloody floor and break your neck?" he shot back. The redhead pulled a face. "Stop worrying. We've done what can be done in the time we've had," he said with supreme confidence, "and we'll worry about the rest tomorrow." Lily couldn't help but start pacing as he looked at his book again. "Potter," Scorpius said darkly. "You're seriously distracting me."

Lily gave him a dirty look. "Then sod off, you prick! Godric, if you don't want to be around me having a nervous attack, go somewhere else to read your bloody book!"

"This is the most comfortable place," he replied, and she grit her teeth. "Go have your freakout downstairs."

Lily scowled. "You're such an ass. Godric for-fucking-bid you tell me it's going to be fine, or try to be helpful."

"I just told you it was going to be fine!" Scorpius snapped.

The red haired witch snorted with condescension. "You did not! You told me to stop worrying, which is proving a fucking task right now!" she half shouted back.

Scorpius frowned, getting up off the bed. "Obviously if I'm telling you to stop worrying, there's nothing to worry about, because it's going to be fine," he countered calmly, with supreme logic.

Lily frowned. "How do you know?" she demanded.

"Because I'm smarter than you," he said, smirking a little.

She felt her brows draw together at that. "Excuse me? You are not! I've got more OWLs and NEWTs than you!"

The blond pureblood shrugged. "That is of little consequence. It simply means you score well on standardized testing."

"Bull," she said, and Scorpius grinned. She realized then that she was staring up at him, and there were only a couple inches between them, and had he always made the air around him feel so bloody hot? "It means I'm smarter," she added, breath hitching on the last word as he moved impossibly closer, into her personal bubble completely, and she felt him pressing lightly against her, from chest to knees.

"If you're so smart, how did I just thoroughly distract you from worrying over something unnecessarily?" he asked softly, his voice moving like velvet across her eardrums, making her heart pound excitedly.

"I…" Lily trailed off, looking up at him, hazel eyes wide and mouth parted in surprise. So he had!

"Precisely," he murmured, and leaned in closer. Lily licked her lips, even as a tiny voice in her head told her to put more space between them, immediately. She ignored it.

"Precisely nothing, Malfoy," she whispered. "The day you're smarter than me is the day I quit this job."

He grinned. "Good, then that means today," he said. "And since you quit, I feel no guilt doing this."

She opened to her mouth to ask, 'Do what?', but then Scorpius leaned down and kissed her, his lips moving sensually over hers, drawing her lower one into his mouth and nibbling enticingly. She didn't know what to do, so shocked was she, but when she finally realized she should do _something_ , her body betrayed her. Instead of pushing him away, her hands moved up his chest, even as his tongue teased the seam of her lips, and she granted the probing muscle entry to the warm contours of her mouth. His hands went from loosely around her waist, edging slowly down to her hips, and when he pulled her flush against himself, Lily couldn't mistake the hard line of his half hard cock against her belly. And when the blond stroked his tongue erotically over the roof of her mouth, Lily felt herself melt, clutching at his shoulders, pressing herself closer on instinct.

A soft little groan of surrender and exquisite bliss floated from her throat and into his mouth, and then Scorpius pulled back, looking down at Lily with darker than normal grey eyes, his brows drawn together almost in confusion. Her face went bright boiling red as she realized she'd made that breathy little noise of need, and then that he'd just snogged her silly, and she, like an idiot, had practically melted all over him with absolutely no resistance. "Lily?" he murmured, and the sound of her name in his rough, husky voice sent her coherent thoughts scattering faster than roaches when the lights came up.

"Wow this is so not happening," she said with a shaky, almost hysterical laugh, and pushed him back as she stepped away. The blond released her, still looking at her with his brows drawn together. "Stop looking at me like that," she added tersely as she blushed unbearably darker, hating that he looked like he couldn't believe he'd just kissed her. Godric, she wasn't revolting!

Before he could say anything else, the sound of the Muggle telephone jangling downstairs interrupted them, and the redhead all but bolted for the stairs. Anything to get away from Malfoy and the raging, conflicting emotions he'd stirred up with his kiss. And, now that she thought about it, how dare he kiss her! That was so off limits it wasn't even funny, and he knew it!

She squared her shoulders, hustled toward the Muggle phone, and picked the contraption up, trying to recall her Muggle Studies practical exam in her NEWT level, where she'd had to both make and answer a call. "Hello?" she said, perhaps a bit too loud, after picking up.

"Oh, hello," said a breathy feminine voice. "Is this Mrs. Thornbridge?"

For a second Lily was about to say no, the woman must have called the wrong phone, then remembered that was supposed to be her undercover name. "Yes, it is," she said after a beat. "Is this Mrs. Devon?"

"It is. I'm just calling to let you know we've arrived, and so far as we can tell, the place looks wonderful. Of course, we haven't done much exploring yet, but-"

Lily gripped the telephone tighter. "You should probably avoid doing that," she said lightly, trying to think up a good reason for the woman to listen to her. "Uh, there's still quite a lot of work that needs to be done," she said, voice shaking a tiny bit with her anxiety.

"Nonsense," the woman said with an airy laugh. "It's all very nice so far. And my husband and I want to do some of the work ourselves." Lily grit her teeth, because that thought made her stomach roil unpleasantly.

"Of course," Lily said instead, because she would make sure to leave some Muggle work. "There's going to be lots to do, even once we've gotten the house under control," she said, trying to sound warm and welcoming, and not warning.

"Good," Mrs. Devon sighed. "Oh silly me, that's not even the real reason I called," she said lightly. "I wanted to invite you and your husband for dinner and drinks. Of course, my husband and I personally want to thank you for what's obviously been an awful lot of work for you both. Stephen was just saying, too, since we're going to be sort of neighbours, it would be just lovely to meet you." Lily bit her lip, not knowing how to reply. She wasn't precisely eager to go, and had no idea if Scorpius would want to either, and hesitated. "Of course, I don't want to put you on the spot, either," the other woman said kindly, a smile in her voice, and Lily almost sighed in relief. "How about if you and the hubby are interested, just come by for six. If not, we completely understand."

"Thank you," Lily said, if only because she had no idea what else to say in the wake of such graciousness.

"Oh no, Mrs. Thornbridge, thank _you_. You have no idea how wonderful it was to come in and find clean sheets on a bed to sleep in tonight while we get used to the place."

Lily blushed now, remembering Scorpius's scathing comments, weeks ago, in their boss's office, about her 'beautifying the place' after he did all the work. "Then you're welcome."

"See you later, hopefully! Goodbye."

Lily hung up and turned, finding Scorpius staring at her curiously. "Was that the Muggles?" he asked. The redheaded witch looked at him, leaning against the doorframe in his jeans and faded navy blue tee that hugged his long lean frame comfortably. He was so bloody perfect, from the neck down anyway, it almost, _almost_ , made above the neck bearable.

She nodded, then said without preamble, "They invited us for dinner and drinks. Apparently the woman wants us all to be the best of friends." A blond brow lifted as a smirk tilted up half of Scorpius's aristocratic mouth.

"Really," he drawled. "Then I suppose it would be abhorrent manners for us to possibly refuse."

Lily's mouth dropped open in shock, because she hadn't really thought Scorpius would want to go. And she kind of really didn't. "I suppose," she said at last, feeling confused when Scorpius grinned at her.

"Delightful. When are we expected?"

"Um, she said six," Lily said weakly then frowned. "Do we really have to go?" the redhead murmured, looking dejected.

The blond laughed. "You bet. Got to keep up appearances, Potter. Which means you should probably wear that little black dress in the wardrobe."

Lily blushed horrendously, equally pleased he'd seen the dress and now wanted to see her in it, if the look he was giving her was any indicator, and furious he'd looked through her belongings. "Not happening," she said flatly.

Scorpius smirked. "Chicken," he taunted, but Lily refused to take the bait. She'd learned Scorpius Malfoy was just twisted enough to enjoy pushing her buttons, and now blatantly refused to get sucked into petty mind games, or be set up by his taunting.

"You bet, Malfoy. Besides, that is _not_ a 'dinner with friends' dress."

Scorpius rolled his eyes, because he couldn't imagine what she'd brought the damn thing for, if not to wear, but let it go. He could wait to see her in the dress he'd gotten a glimpse of and had been thinking about with embarrassing frequency, and just how it would fit on Lily. And at that thought, he turned away from her. He told himself firmly he shouldn't - _didn't_ \- give a damn if he saw Lily in the bloody dress, or any other piece of clothing. Or even without any clothes at all. Only he didn't quite buy it.

"I'm going to go get ready," Lily said, brushing past him and moving toward the stairs. "It's almost four thirty already." She climbed the stairs as Scorpius burst out laughing, him wondering what the hell she needed an hour and a half to accomplish, and Lily wondering if she would have time to magically curl her hair or not.

Scorpius paced the little cottage bedroom, sending a dark glare toward the bathroom door every now and then, wondering what in the bleeding hell was taking Lily so long. How many things could one witch conceivably do, alone in a bathroom, that constituted 'getting ready'? He looked at his watch, but it was still ten to six, and only a minute since he'd last checked it. He knocked on the bathroom door again.

"Son of a cocksucking Slytherin, so pushy," he heard Lily grumble. "Hold on! I'm almost done!"

The blond pureblood rolled his eyes, pacing some more, and told himself that after one more minute, he'd simply blow the damn door off its hinges and bodily remove Lily from the bathroom, if only so he could take five minutes to get himself ready. He hadn't wanted to go meet the Muggles whose lives he'd been working to keep safe for the last month and a half, but the temptation to agree to dinner and drinks and see Lily getting, possibly, dolled up, had been too great. And the look on her face when she'd resigned herself to going had been priceless. Now Scorpius wished he would be doing nothing more strenuous than eating dinner and going to bed after reading his book some more.

He glared at his watch and raised a hand to hammer on the bathroom door again, but then Lily opened the door and looked up at him, and he forgot why he even needed to get in there in the first place. She wasn't wearing the little black dress, but her outfit of choice was just as tempting. Her legs were encased in some sort of stretchy black pants that hugged her like a second skin, showing off her shapely thighs and calves, and her top half was swathed in a dark purple top made of some sort of floaty, diaphanous material that kept whatever was underneath a complete mystery, except the skinny tie around her waist that gave her an hourglass figure. Her hair, normally bound back securely in a messy bun, curled in shining waves around her shoulders, all but begging for his hands to bury themselves in it, and his fingers twitched as he stayed the urge.

"What?" she demanded, blinking her large hazel eyes that seemed more vibrant than normal, her lashes thicker and darker from a liberal amount of mascara.

"Are you wearing makeup?" he demanded, wondering how in the hell it was she could look so damned good all of a sudden, and why she would ever go out into the world not looking like that. Then again, he reckoned, she'd probably have every wizard in a half mile radius panting after her, so he assumed that was it.

Her cheeks went pink and Lily shrugged. "A little," she said, brushing past him, sending up a waft of mouthwatering vanilla and coconut scented air. "Do you have to ask like that?" she added grumpily, moving to the wardrobe and pulling out her massive, oatmeal coloured cardigan that drooped past her hips and turned her into a massive oatmeal coloured lump.

Scorpius frowned a little, then ducked into the bathroom for a quick shave and ran a comb through his hair before moving to change his shirt. Lily, who was standing before the mirror atop the dresser, turned left and then right and sighed, as if displeased with whatever she saw. Scorpius shrugged into his white button down and felt her watching him. "What?" he asked, glancing over.

Lily looked away quickly. "Nothing," she mumbled and sighed, tucking her cardigan around herself and heading down the stairs. Scorpius shook his head, doubting he'd ever truly understand women, and followed after his pretend wife to go meet their Muggle neighbours. Once they'd exited the little cottage and were heading up to the mansion, Lily suddenly stopped dead and said softly, "Oh, shit."

Scorpius paused and looked back at her, wondering if this was like the time she'd bolted upright in the middle of the night with same softly uttered curse, then dashed into the bathroom. "What?" he asked, sighing, because if she was going to freak out over something like getting her damn period again, he was going to go back to the cottage and fall asleep in front of the telly.

"I forgot my damn wedding ring," she grouched, and pulled a face. "Oh well, it's not like-"

Scorpius sighed, rolling his dark grey eyes lifted his wand, twirled it into two small circles in the air, and pocketed it again as two rings dropped into his outstretched palms. "Here," he said, reaching for her left hand. Lily looked at her fingers as he slid first the diamond engagement ring on, and then the plain gold band on after it.

"Thanks," she said breathily, all but snatching her hand away. Scorpius smirked.

"You know, if you're going to sell the Muggles on us being married, you might have to pretend you don't mind holding my hand," he teased.

Lily frowned, glaring up at him, then pointedly reached for his left hand, rapping his ring finger once, rather hard, with her wand, and a silvery band appeared around his ring finger. "Duly noted," she said dryly, and started up toward the mansion again.

Scorpius followed after a step, falling easily into stride with her, and just as they reached the front porch, reached for her hand again, lacing his fingers easily through hers when she made to pull away on instinct. She looked sidelong at him as they got to the front door and rang the bell. "If you try to hold anything but my hand, I'll chop it off," she said sweetly. Scorpius lifted a brow, but before he could reply, the front door opened, and a young couple, probably fairly close to Scorpius and Lily in age, stood on the other side of the screen door.

XXX


	5. Chapter 5

The Department of Oddities and the Unexplained

written by: albe-chan

 **DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational potion use and drinking, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

The woman was tall, model-thin, blonde, and smiling hugely. The man was a couple inches shorter than Scorpius, looked bored to the extreme, and was as dark haired and dark eyed as his wife was fair. "Oh, you came!" the woman gushed in a breathy voice that put Scorpius almost immediately on edge, thoroughly reminded of the various young witches whose mothers were friends with his own. They were all rich, snobby, spoiled rotten, and talked with that simpering little girl voice that made him cringe internally.

"Hi," Lily said, smiling beside him, and Scorpius could feel the nerves pouring off of her. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, and then Mrs. Devon was inviting them in, and hugging the both of them, planting a swift kiss on both Scorpius's cheeks, while her husband eyed Lily up in a way Scorpius didn't like at all, and would've liked less if he'd been her husband for real. "Come in, come in," Mrs. Devon said. "I'm Alexandra, by the way, and this is Stephen." The dark haired man conjured up a suave smile for Lily as his wife turned to look at him, leaning in to kiss her cheek, and shook hands with Scorpius as the redhead introduced them and Scorpius tried not to notice Mr. Devon's roving eyes.

Lily followed the tall blonde into the kitchen, the other woman talking a mile a minute, and Scorpius, following Stephen Devon's lead, headed into the front parlour, remembering, vividly, the first time he'd set foot in the room. "So how are you liking country living?" Scorpius asked, seeing the Italian leather shoes and designer silk tie, reckoning the man was a city slicker through and through.

Devon shrugged, pouring himself a brandy, and lifted the bottle questioningly over a second glass. Scorpius nodded his assent. "The commute is a bitch and this house gives me the creeps, but Alex is over the bloody moon about it," he said, handing Scorpius a glass.

"Cheers," the blond said in gratitude, and sipped a very good brandy. "Happy wife happy life?" he guessed.

Stephen chuckled. "Sounds corny, mate, but you've got that one right." He smiled, dark eyes darting to the door to the hall, and kitchen beyond. "How long have you and the Mrs been here?"

Scorpius weighed his answer carefully through a mouthful of brandy. "Not long, really," he said at last.

"You don't sound as if you're of a mind to stay, either," Stephen said astutely, and Scorpius shrugged.

"We don't have much reason to stay once the work here is finished." Scorpius watched the man belt back his drink and pictured his father's face, trying not to crack a smile. "But it's a decent little place," he said kindly.

"Going back to the real city?" Devon asked with interest.

"Maybe," he replied.

Stephen smirked, putting away the last of his brandy noisily as Scorpius took a long sip. "Too bad. It would be so much more convenient if you lot stayed 'round here." With that, he stood up again, and Scorpius finished his own brandy, setting the glass on the edge of Devon's desk before following the man back to the hall and toward the kitchen.

Scorpius looked around with interest, and could only assume the final finishes on the room Lily had managed to scratch off their list within the first week, without a jot of his help, were her own doing. A dozen brass pots and pans hung from the ceiling, the massive red brick fireplace at the far end of the room was immaculately clean, like the rest of the place, and bearing a new mantle, and there was a tablecloth and fresh flowers on the little table that seemed to scream Lily. It was almost unrecognizable to Scorpius.

The redhead's back was to the door as she talked, and Scorpius noticed immediately that she'd discarded her godawful cardigan, and her ass looked _fantastic_ in her stretchy pants. "Sometimes old houses just have weird vibes, but I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about," Lily said soothingly.

"Are you telling her that you think the place is haunted, Alex?" Stephen teased, and scoffed. Alexandra frowned prettily, even as she pulled plates down from the cupboard. Scorpius privately thought she was more perceptive than the average Muggle if she felt like the place didn't like her. He himself could feel bad vibes pouring up from the cellar, and after seeing what he'd seen in the rest of the house, he was willing to bet it would be a long while before the traces of anger and hatred that lingered, despite the magical stripping, would fade.

"You don't know that it's not, Stephen," Alexandra said firmly, and dark eyes rolled, even as he slid an arm around her impossibly tiny waist and pulled her close.

"It's not," he said firmly. "That stuff simply doesn't exist outside people's imaginations, and anyone who thinks otherwise is probably a crackpot. There's no ghosts, or vibes, or anything, it's just a big old house that's halfway to falling apart, babe. Only thing haunting this place is mice."

Alexandra beamed. "That's why we're going to fix it." She looked back at Lily and smiled radiantly. "The second we pulled up to look at the place I fell in love. I just know it's going to be the house of our dreams when it's all finished."

Stephen rolled his eyes, but smiled indulgently, and Lily fought the urge to sigh dreamily. Because if she could have one secret wish of her heart to come true, it would undoubtedly be to find herself so wonderfully happy with a man who adored her, like her new neighbour Mrs. Alexandra Devon. And, if Lily was honest with herself, she wouldn't mind having the other woman's figure, either. Because she was positive Alexandra wasn't wearing elastic pants with the extra wide waistband to suck in her tummy roll.

But despite envying the other woman's thinness, Lily couldn't help but admit, right off the hop, she rather liked Alexandra. The woman was so damn _nice_ , it was awfully hard not to like her, and she was so bloody effusive in her praise for the little extra touches Lily had taken the liberty to provide with the house for their arrival, the redhead was almost at a loss for words. She was almost grateful when Scorpius and Stephen showed up, because it was a distraction from feeling awkward and awed.

All of a sudden, she felt Scorpius's hand on her lower back, and went very still as it moved down from the friendly zone to the boyfriend zone, then let out her breath as it stayed there and away from the 'I've seen you naked and coming' zone. "I'm sure you'll both be very happy here," he said politely. "Once everything's up to scratch and, hopefully, mouse free."

"Hopefully," Stephen agreed as Lily slid out from Scorpius's grasp as Alexandra moved to set the table, and Lily scooped up silverware, moving to assist. The blond resisted the urge to frown.

"So how long have you been married?" Lily asked lightly, glancing at Alexandra's very large engagement ring with diamond studded band, that glimmered in the bright kitchen lighting.

"Just over two months. And I can't tell you how nice it is to finally have our own place. We were staying with my aunt, who's actually the one who introduced us, and she's so nice, and was quite gracious, letting us stay when we got home from the honeymoon, but my _God_ it's so nice to just be...alone. You know?" The blonde woman looked up, her light blue eyes wide and innocent, and Lily felt a little stab of guilt she had to lie to her.

"Yeah," Lily said quietly, looking down and carefully arranging a fork and knife.

"And the drive down was just amazing," Alexandra continued airily, sighing contentedly. "We took the scenic route, stayed in a little bed and breakfast just for the hell of it, and now we're home." She beamed and Lily forced a rigid smile. "How long have you been married?"

Lily remembered the file answer for this precise question. "A year or so," she said, and blushed a tiny bit, because she was bad at lying. "It's been…" She thought about the last six weeks, living and working with the blond pureblood, and shrugged. "It's had ups and downs."

"Oh," Alexandra said, looking hesitant, but Lily grinned.

"There are definitely perks," she added hastily. Like Scorpius's cooking. That had been a surprise and was definitely a perk, because she was definitely nowhere near his calibre. And she had to admit, it _was_ quite nice to have another human being in bed beside her, who she sometimes woke, in the middle of the night, lying against. "And it's not all bad."

Alexandra's blue eyes sparkled as she laughed. "Oh, of course there are perks." She leaned in, under the pretense of setting a plate down. "I didn't get _any_ tan lines on our honeymoon," she whispered conspiratorially, and Lily couldn't help but blush at the implications.

"Wow," she said, biting her tongue against the initial urge to ask if Alexandra had felt weird just being _naked_ , but resisted.

"That's what I was saying," she said lightly, and winked at Lily, who blushed darker. "I'm going to check on dinner," she said to the men, who'd been talking, and when Lily herself glanced over, she could tell by Scorpius's mouth and eyebrows, he wasn't much impressed by whatever Mr. Devon was saying.

"Sure thing, babe," Stephen said lightly, and Lily happened to meet his gaze as his slid to her, and she blushed, because when he lifted a brow and his dark brown, almost black eyes roved downward over her, she felt distinctly uncomfortable.

Scorpius grit his teeth a little, because while his wife was busy opening the oven and lifting lids on pots on the stove, Stephen was eyeing up Lily's pert, plump ass as she turned and finished laying the table. "I hope you both eat red meat," Alexandra said brightly as she pulled a roast out of the oven, and Lily had to consciously focus on not drooling at the smell.

In a matter of minutes, dinner was served, and Lily was putting a serious amount of effort into not actively drooling, and maintaining her manners. It was difficult in the wake of the roast beef, gravy, heavily buttered baby vegetables, mashed potatoes, and, of course, the positively decadent Yorkshire puddings, looking all soft and fattening and delicious. She loaded up her plate, a little less full than if she'd been attending dinner with, say, her parents, but still taking lots of everything, and after wine was poured, tucked into the delicious meal she was astounded Alexandra had been able to prepare. She'd known the newlyweds were due to arrive at noon, but couldn't fathom the blonde woman simply whipping up a huge meal in no time like that.

Conversation was lively, carried mostly by Alexandra, who ate like a bird, Lily noticed, and by the end of the meal, after she'd cleared her plate and barely resisted seconds, three things were utterly apparent to the redhead witch. Stephen Devon was a flirt, and kind of an obvious one at that, and his wife either had no clue, or knew and didn't mind, because she was positive Lily was no threat to her. And third, Lily couldn't help but notice that Scorpius, who was seated beside her, across from Alexandra at the large table in the massive dining room, didn't like Stephen whatsoever.

Dessert was fruit and cheese, and while Lily didn't mind, she was rather missing the thought of dinner at her parents' house, where there'd be chocolate cake after roast beef dinner. And, of course, there was a third glass of wine to go with it, and although the redhead couldn't be sure, she felt a little lightheaded and tipsy after she'd drained it. She put her hand over the top as Stephen made to refill it.

"Oh no, I can't have more," she said, smiling. Getting drunk was firmly Not Allowed according to her Ministry dossier for the case, and the last thing she needed was Scorpius ratting her out once this was all said and done.

Devon grinned at her, all white teeth and handsome face. "Come on, doll, what's a few drinks amongst friends?"

Lily opened her mouth to reply, but then Scorpius said darkly, "She's had more than enough. Another glass and I'd end up carrying her home." Stephen laughed, and Lily bristled, but strove not to snap back rudely. She would maintain her composure even as she prepared to take several strips off Scorpius once they got back to the cottage. How dare he make it sound like he'd had to carry her home, drunk, from places more than never, and sound like the thought of carrying her was so utterly distasteful, when he could obviously just Levitate her up if she was too heavy to actually lift. And because the offhand comment stung more than a little.

"It's getting late, Stephen," Alexandra said softly, and put a hand on her husband's arm. He covered her hand with his free one.

"Too true," he said amicably. "I'm sure you lot will be up at the crack of dawn, going about your business like efficient worker bees."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, but smiled lazily, and Lily forced one as well. "We should get to bed," the redheaded witch said to her partner, moving to put a hand on his arm as his hand twitched to the wand in his pocket.

Stephen laughed at that. "Ah, it appears both of our wives are of a mind for dessert," he said to Scorpius, who grit his teeth on his smile, jaw flexing a little, but Lily's hand stayed on his arm, so he merely rose.

"Apparently," he said flatly, and looked at the bastard's poor wife, who was staring at her husband in a besotted sort of way. "Thank you for dinner, it was delicious," he said.

"Yes, thank you," Lily piped up.

"It was no trouble," Alexandra said, smiling brightly, and rose from the table as well. "And thank _you_ , both, for-"

"It wasn't any trouble. It is our job, and all," Lily interjected. "Have a wonderful evening," she said, and they took their leave after insisting they could see themselves out.

As they walked back to the cottage, Lily frowned, feeling equally nettled with Scorpius, and confused as to why he seemed to hate Mr. Devon so much. He'd been as charming and witty and impeccably polite as any time she'd seen him at dinner with her parents, but she couldn't help but notice he barely looked at her the entire time, even if she was talking. "Why so serious?" he asked as the cottage loomed in the twilight.

Her mouth pursed, trying to phrase what she wanted to say delicately. "You were kind of acting weird at dinner," she said at last, and glanced up at his profile in the semi-dark.

"It was kind of a weird dinner," he said.

Lily could admit it wasn't every day she dined with Muggles, but still. "Why don't you like Stephen?" she asked bluntly as they reached the front door. Scorpius paused, wand out, to unlock it.

"I have yet to see any part worth liking," he said easily, and hastily undid the basic magical enchantments and locking charms they employed. Lily's brows drew together as she followed him into the sitting room. "Except maybe his taste in women. But even then..." He shrugged, going into the kitchen.

The redhead felt her mouth fall open and snapped it shut with an audible click. "Of course," she sneered, and turned for the stairs.

"What?" Scorpius said, and Lily heard the icebox close, but merely kept stomping up the stairs. To her chagrin, he followed her, beer in hand.

Her eyes narrowed, because he'd had more wine than her with dinner, and she didn't feel the need to remind him he wasn't allowed to get drunk either. She debated it, just to piss him off, but knew it would only turn into her being more angry and frustrated, and Scorpius thoroughly amused. "That's such a typical man thing to say," she replied as blandly as possible. A hint of anger still seeped into her tone.

"You asked a question and I answered it, Lily," Scorpius said, and she grit her teeth and bit her tongue, picturing his eyes rolling. "Or is this one of those hormonal women things?" he drawled, obviously to needle her temper into exploding. "Should I not have mentioned the part about taste in women?" he goaded. "Don't tell me that offends your delicate, feminine sensibilities, Lily." She heard him crack open his beer as she rifled through her drawers for a nightgown.

"You need to do the damn laundry," she snapped. Scorpius chuckled, and she heard him set his beverage down.

"That's all you, doll," he said, a teasing edge in his deep voice as he used the endearment Stephen had called her for most of the evening, after the second glass of wine.

"I did it last time!"

She glared over her shoulder at the blond pureblood, who'd kicked off his shoes and was stretched out, full length, like a cat in the sun, on the bed, book open on his belly, beer in hand. One blond brow was lifted as he smirked at her. "And you did such a lovely job," he replied. She narrowed her eyes. "Besides, you can cook for a week if I do laundry. Oh wait, never mind, we'll starve, because you can't cook. Play to your strengths, doll."

"You're a piece of work," she snarled, and stomped to the bathroom to wash her face and change. She heard Scorpius laugh through the door, and glared at her reflection, roughly scrubbing her face and pulling a brush furiously through her hair. She hated that she felt so upset, because she knew, deep down, it was the sort of fury that stemmed from hurt. And although it was stupid, and she told herself she was _being_ stupid for thinking it, she couldn't help but recognize that the hurt stemmed from both Scorpius, and obviously Stephen, finding Alexandra more attractive than her. Of course, she'd suspected that would be the case the second she'd clapped eyes on the tall, willowy blonde. But hearing it all but said outright stung a lot.

She set her hair brush down and took a deep breath, peeling her clothes off, and looking at her reflection in the mirror. Instantly flaws jumped out, but Lily tried to ignore them. She couldn't do much to change the fact she was white as snow. And she wouldn't change the fact she liked food, lots, and tried to look at her naked reflection objectively. She had nice arms, that was certain. And she definitely had better than average tits, probably even more so than Alexandra Devon. Though, she conceded, the other woman's were probably still defying gravity, and not marred by stretch marks from weight gain.

The redhead turned to the side and smiled. Because there was always her bubble butt to cheer her up. The one perk of being chubby, she supposed, was that it had filled out her gluteus maximus perfectly, even if it was probably all cellulite. She had time still to worry about that, and she was fairly positive there were potions that could keep it plump and not lumpy whenever the time to worry about it did come. Lily donned her nightgown gratefully, the huge, billowy shape hiding everything in her reflection except the breadth of her shoulders. It felt so very _safe_ , her nightgown, and she smiled a little and reached for her toothbrush.

Scorpius looked up at the bathroom door from his book for the third time in as many minutes since Lily had closed the door behind herself with an ominous expression, narrowing dark grey eyes as he pulled thoughtfully off his beer.

He couldn't help but notice Lily had been the most outgoing and effervescent he'd ever seen her at dinner, talking animatedly, laughing, and completely oblivious to the bastard who'd eyed her up like a dog on a juicy bone. Was it because she'd been drinking? The thought had crossed his mind more than once during the meal, but he shook his head now. That, somehow, didn't fit. He couldn't help but picture her, like every other Potter he'd seen drunk, being either depressingly thoughtful or obnoxiously loud. Not like a social butterfly, fluttering her wings.

And then it hit him, and he paused with the beer half lifted to his mouth. Maybe she _was_ like that, only he never noticed, because she was simply never like that around _him_. He scowled, because that hardly seemed fair. Sure, there had been flashes of it these last few weeks, but that was still nothing compared to dinner. Scorpius couldn't help but think, surely, if he'd seen that side of Lily, the one that he supposed her friends and family, outside his attendance, saw, he wouldn't have always tried so hard to rile her temper. Hell, he'd probably be trying to-

The bathroom door opened , thoroughly derailing his train of thought, and Lily came out in what looked like a miniature tent somehow fashioned into a dress. A plaid tent, that included lace trim. And although he tried to stop himself, he burst out laughing. She merely lifted a brow, swished over in the massive neck to ankles affair of faded red plaid, and climbed into bed. "You look utterly ridiculous in that," Scorpius said, looking back at his book, then laughed some more, because he could feel her angry temper bubbling under the surface of her calm.

"That's too bad," she said, rolling away from him and pointedly tugging the blanket mostly onto her side. "I was going for absolutely horrifying."

The blond pureblood grinned, took a swig of beer, and just as Lily sighed out a long breath, relaxing, murmured, "You got that, too. I was just trying not to offend you again."

XXX


	6. Chapter 6

The Department of Oddities and the Unexplained

written by: albe-chan

 **DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational potion use and drinking, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

One Week Later

Lily smiled as she saw the tall, willowy figure of Alexandra Devon appear at the screen door. "Oh, Lily, perfect!" she said, beaming. "Come in, you're never going to _guess_ what I found. I swear, whoever lived here before was _definitely_ out there."

The redhead prayed it wasn't dangerous or deadly, or something that would force her to alter the poor woman's memory. "Thanks. Let's see it," she said, and followed her newfound friend into the parlour, where a dusty box she recognized from the kitchen and three bottles she knew contained nothing deadly, sat on the coffee table. "What is it?" she asked curiously. She hadn't bothered, after testing the three bottles inside the wooden box for poisons and illegal potions, doing further tests to determine what they were, but now she felt a little curious herself.

"I found this, when I took the bottles out of the box and cleared away all the dusty old straw or whatever they were packed in," Alexandra said, and pulled out a card, passing it to Lily and giggling.

Lily bit her lip as she read the little card, feeling a hot flush creeping up her neck. _Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, Proud Purveyors of Magical Mayhem since 1996, are proud to introduce the Trifecta of Lust! Just a drop* from each bottle, and within moments, your humdrum lover will become the man of your dreams! At least for an hour. Side effects include insatiable lust and unbearable pleasure from your man! *-Note, some customers may require a larger dose. For persons over fifty kilos, one ounce is the correct dose. Maximum effect - four hours._

For a long moment she just stared at the card, and then Alexandra said, a tad impatiently, "Is that not the most ridiculous thing you've ever seen?" and laughed airily.

"Definitely," Lily said, giggling herself. Because although she was positively _mortified_ to think one or both of her twin uncles had thought up something like that, she had to admit, it sounded bloody hilarious.

"Let's try it!" Alexandra said suddenly, her blue eyes going wide in excitement. Lily shook her head. It was probably some kind of lusty love potion, knowing at least her uncle George, if not Fred, and she doubted it would even work after all that time. She noted the date on the little card was only five or so years out of date, but still.

"No," Lily said easily, even as the blonde haired woman went to a sideboard and opened a door. "C'mon, Alex, there's no way it's real," she scoffed.

"Maybe it is," her friend teased, laughing, and pulled out a set of crystal shot glasses. "Just try it with me, but we have to hurry. Stephen's going to be home from work soon, and you know how he feels about 'hocus pocus' crap."

Lily smirked, because Stephen made her father's Muggle relations look like magic aficionados. "Fine," she sighed, hoping this wasn't going to kill them both. She doubted it though. If anything, it would probably just give her a really good sexy dream when she went back to the little cottage and passed out for the night.

"Yes! I knew you'd do it with me!" Alexandra squealed, and lined up the shot glasses, three for each of them. Lily helped her pour out doses of the potions, and then looked up at her newfound Muggle friend. There might be a barrier between them, a difference of worlds, but Lily had to admit, she would miss the other woman whenever they were finished the job.

"Cheers," she said, lifting the first drink, which was pink, and they clinked glasses. Lily braced for something awful, but it just tasted like stale sugar. "Oh, that wasn't so bad," she said, smacking her lips.

"Yeah, I thought it was going to be liquor, honestly," Alexandra said, and they laughed, then picked up the next glasses, these ones with clear liquid, toasting again. Lily choked as it burned all the way down. Alexandra coughed, slamming her little glass down. "Oh God! That one _was_ liquor!"

Lily shuddered. "Ew!" she said, because she was fairly positive that was extra aged Ogden's Finest Moonshine. Made to taste like water until it hit your throat. Her stomach roiled in protest as she looked at the third glass. The sound of car tyres on gravel shook her and Alexandra both into action, and they downed the last shot, which was a dark red, and Lily felt something warm burst through her at the berry flavour. And then she remembered, horribly, the story her father had once told her about her uncle Ron accidentally taking an old Love Potion that had become more potent with age. And while still hilarious, how detrimental that had been.

"Ooh, that one was nice," Alexandra sighed, then hastily corked the bottles, all but throwing them into the box, even as her husband ascended the porch steps.

"I'll stash this in the kitchen, under the sink, on my way out the back," she said, and took the heavy box from her friend.

"Thanks, Lily!" the blonde said, moving toward the foyer to greet her husband, and Lily hustled out the back, not wanting to be around for the results of a married woman around her husband while under the effects of a lusty love potion.

The redheaded witch hid the box, and jogged to her own, much more humble accommodations, as the sun finally began setting in earnest. The lights were on in the sitting room, the Muggle telly was blaring, and something smelled delicious in the kitchen. Lily looked up as Scorpius turned, his very white t-shirt making him look more flawlessly golden tan, his jeans riding a smidge lower than usual on his hips, and Lily felt a hot gush of arousal that had her nipples going hard. "Oh fuck," she whispered. Because she was pretty sure the lust potion was just as potent as the date it had been bottled. And combined with whatever the pink stuff was and the shot of almost pure liquor, the redhead was feeling dangerously uninhibited and downright horny.

"Are you okay?" Scorpius asked, and whether it was the potion, or just him, she felt a shiver of pleasure at the deep tone of his voice.

"I'm fantastic," she purred, then bit her lip to stay the urge to say more. She had a feeling that's what the little pink sugary drink did. Loosened her tongue and turned her into a sweet-talking sex kitten. And Godric fucking Gryffindor, it was damn hard to resist the urge to move toward him and simply _touch_ him! Damn it, why did he have to look so fucking _good_!?

Blond brows furrowed together over dark grey eyes, and Scorpius looked Lily up and down. There was no way she wasn't...something. He couldn't put a finger on it, but something with his redheaded partner on this miserable job was definitely up. "What did Mrs. Devon want?" he asked, watching Lily closely. She shrugged, and reached up, pulling her bun out and shaking her long, dark red hair so it cascaded in curling waves around her shoulders.

"She found something," she said, and licked her lips. Her hazel eyes looked at him, then he both saw and felt them rove lower. "In the kitchen." Scorpius merely lifted a brow, waiting. "It wasn't dangerous, obviously," Lily continued, and undid the first button on her blouse. "But it was a magical remnant," she said, and grinned, meeting his eyes again. "It was one of my uncle George's products," she said. Scorpius's brow furrowed, impatience threatening to hurry Lily's meandering story along. He noticed her eyes seemed a tiny bit glazed and, as she moved to sit on the couch, she seemed oddly...relaxed.

"What was it?" he finally asked.

She blushed. "It was a lust potion," she said, and giggled, eyes roving over him again. Scorpius felt something drop in his stomach region. "And Alex made me take some with her, so we could prove it wasn't real." She bit her lower lip for a moment, and shifted. "Except I'm pretty sure it's real. And that it works."

His brows shot up, mouth parting, because, if he was understanding correctly, she'd just willing taken a lust potion, and let a Muggle imbibe the shit too, and if it was a Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes product, it probably worked like a fucking charm. "Are you daft?"

Lily, to his surprise, didn't get angry, but smiled coyly, biting her lip again, looking tempting as sin as she reached up to undo another button. "Probably," she said. "I mean, part of it definitely involved alcohol. The potion that is, though it could also be contributing to my daftness." Her hazel eyes roved down him once more. "Because if I wasn't daft, I probably wouldn't be thinking about you without a shirt on."

Scorpius forced himself not to react to that, although it was difficult, and whenever she wasn't blissed out on some wacky potion, he'd tease her mercilessly. "So you fed a probably untested potion to a Muggle, and drank some yourself, just for kicks?" he drawled.

"I told you, it was all Alex's idea. She thought it would be funny. And I didn't think it would be this potent," she admitted, biting her lip and shifting again. "But that might've been because it was like five years old, so-"

" _What_!?" Scorpius snapped. Lily blinked. "You drank an expired lust potion? Are you fucking insane!?"

Lily's mouth puckered into a far too kissable pout. "I _told you_ it was all Alex's idea. And I doubt it was expired. I don't feel sick." She pouted a little more. "And I happened to get an Exceed Expectations on my Potions NEWT."

Scorpius fought hard to control his temper, because getting angry wouldn't solve a damn thing. So instead, he switched off the stove and oven, Levitated the food out and onto a tray, and served himself a plate. "How long is this expected to last?" he asked as he sat at the table, facing her across the small cottage, trying to ignore the come hither look he was almost positive she wasn't doing on purpose.

"At least an hour, guaranteed," she said, and giggled. "I think the maximum was four hours."

Scorpius grit his teeth, because Lily reached for a third button on her goddamn blouse, and if he had to last another four hours, he might very well go insane. Because sure, he'd had women all but throw themselves at him before. He'd literally even had them beg, but they'd all been sober enough to know what they were doing or saying. And never had they been under the influence of a questionably aged lust potion.

Scorpius couldn't take advantage of a woman who was under the influence of a lust potion, and most especially not Little Lily Potter. Hell, he wasn't even allowed to take advantage of her sober, because she was his partner, and his best friend's little sister. It would just be morally and all sorts of other types of wrong, wrong, _wrong_. But he couldn't resist watching her undo the fourth button, breathing hitching in anticipation, even as he condemned himself as a bastard. Her fingers paused in pushing the little plastic disc through it's hole. "You're staring at me." It was spoken with the tiniest edge of surprised incredulity, as though she'd never before thought a bloke might find watching her undressing kind of a turn on.

"You're taking your shirt off," he replied evenly, and Lily laughed.

"I am," she said, and undid the fourth button. But instead of breasts, either in or out of a brassiere, Scorpius saw only soft cream coloured tank top. "Because it's warm in here, from the oven," she said. Her full, rosy mouth quirked up playfully, eyes heavy lidded. "Don't you think so?"

"Bit warm, yeah," he said thickly, trying not to stare at her breasts and failing. The little cream coloured tank top, only a few shades lighter than her skin, clung deliciously and yet covered her efficiently, giving him the slightest hint of her enticing curves but keeping the best parts under wraps. And when she finally slipped the ugly orange blouse off, he couldn't help but wonder why in the bleeding _fuck_ she was wearing a hideous, too big shirt instead of nothing but that perfect little tank top all the time. Because for the first time since that rather enjoyable experience of seeing Lily in naught but a towel, which had still hidden her shape, he saw exactly what she'd been hiding under loose robes and oversized blouses. And it was good. No, hell, it was fucking _great_.

She had delicate, creamy shoulders and collarbones, and full, surprisingly perky breasts that were unfortunately far too covered in her tank top but still trying to spill from a bra he suspected might have been bought when those assets had yet to mature. And, as his eyes roved lower, he saw a tiny waist over the flare of womanly hips, and her soft, luscious curves all but beckoned to him. He forced his traitorous gaze downward at his plate, even as his damnable libido, which had lead him dick first into trouble more than once, flared to life just looking at Lily, who was definitely not so little as he recalled, in all the right ways. He simply _wasn't allowed_. And it was every kind of wrong, because she wasn't herself.

Lily bit her lip, feeling a shiver of disappointment, despite the potion, because if that wasn't an obvious sign Scorpius wasn't interested, she had no idea what would be. "I think I'll go to bed," she sighed, and got up, hating that her nipples were still hard and straining against the confines of her bra, and she was almost unbearably damp between her legs just from thinking about Scorpius naked, and feeling his hot possessive stare, his dark grey eyes branding her with their intensity.

But, of course, she wasn't an idiot. She'd never look like their gorgeous, model-thin neighbour, Alexandra Devon, because she liked to eat ice cream, and preferred crisps to working out. And, considering the way he looked and that he was undoubtedly out of her league, Lily was pretty sure he'd be all about that perfectly thin, flat, and toned sort of woman. Hell, he'd practically said so. But she wasn't _that_ bad looking. She felt Scorpius looking at her, and met his steady, dark grey eyes. He looked confused again. "You're not eating?" he asked.

Lily almost laughed at his expression of adorable confusion, but shook her head. "I'm not hungry," she said, and made to turn away.

"Bullshit," Scorpius said, and her temper sparked up at that. "You haven't eaten a single thing today."

Lily frowned, because she was sure she had. She'd had, well, admittedly, only coffee for breakfast. And then she'd skipped lunch, because she'd been working on trying to get the last of the conservatory wrapped up, and then it had been late into the afternoon, and she hadn't wanted to spoil dinner, and really wound up only having some questionable lust potion. Well damn. "Well I'm not-"

"Eat," Scorpius said, pointing at the food. She frowned, and like a cobra strike, she felt her insecurities rise, wondering bitterly if he thought she needed to eat so much because he thought her fat. And even though her lip curled, she felt a tiny stab of sadness, because there was part of her that didn't think that assessment too far off the mark.

"I'm not hun-"

"I don't give a damn. You're going to burn yourself out, because you don't take care of yourself. So you're going to sit and eat dinner with me, and then if you want to be mad, go for it, but goddamn it, you have to _eat,_ Lily."

She frowned some more, but made a plate and sat and ate, hating that she was suddenly starving after she put the first bite in her mouth. And after she cleared her plate efficiently, she resisted the urge to go for seconds, and merely put the empty dish in the sink. "Goodnight," she said pointedly.

Scorpius didn't reply as she exited the kitchen, and although she didn't want to, she still felt disappointed. Because Godric fucking _damn it_ she was horny! She didn't even care if it was Scorpius, because, if she was honest with herself, she could do a helluva a lot worse and pretty much no better. He was a twelve on the one to ten, and she was a seven, maybe eight with the right dress and makeup and her hair done. It just wouldn't happen, and although the lust potion made it difficult, she had to accept that it was highly unlikely Scorpius would ever want to sleep with her. No matter how much she wouldn't mind if it _did_ happen.

She tried not think about the way his mouth had felt on hers the time he'd kissed her last week while she disrobed before the steaming shower, and slipped quickly under the spray. The water was just hot enough, and she groaned, because the potion was wreaking havoc on her senses, sensitizing her flesh and making her unbearably aware of all her erogenous zones and how badly she wanted to have Scorpius do whatever he liked with all of them. She washed her hair and body on autopilot, barely aware of herself as she visualized, graphically, what Scorpius looked like naked, except for the one part of him she hadn't seen, and her arousal climbed to dizzying heights.

By the time she finished showering, Lily was telling herself firmly she didn't want Scorpius to be waiting in the bedroom when she went to get dressed for bed, and find her in only a towel again, even as she wrapped the towel around her herself, a second wrapped turban style atop her head. But when she exited the bathroom, the bedroom was empty. The redheaded witch pulled on panties and an oversized t-shirt that she swam in, dried her hair with magic, even though that tended to make it frizz, threw her wet towels on the bathroom floor, and crawled into bed gratefully.

The potion burned her alive with intensity, and she couldn't resist sliding a hand inside her panties and between her legs, rolling onto her back. She sucked in a shifty breath, then closed her eyes, biting her lower lip as she teased her wetness and the soft contours of her vulva that were slick with her excitement. A single finger dipped into that molten pool of moisture, then up and around the tight bundle of nerve endings she'd figured out as a late teen would get her there enough to sleep when the urge prevented it. This time her free hand slid up her belly, under the shirt bunched around her hips, and as Lily slowly rocked and teased herself, she caressed her own hard nipple.

Lily had to bite back the urge to groan and sucked in a deep breath through her nose, letting it out as she brushed the hard numb again, then rolled it experimentally, all the while rubbing her clit in a fast circular motion as she lifted her hips up in silent supplication instinctively. Her breath huffed out in a silent moan, and she couldn't hold in a groan as she pinched her nipple, the pleasure spiking deliriously as she rubbed herself harder and faster, ever so close.

She wanted to curse and cry and die of embarrassment as she heard Scorpius climbing the stairs, and for a half second, didn't pause in her self ministrations before realizing she didn't have nearly enough time. She bit her lip, removing her hands from under her articles of clothing and rolled onto her side as he came up the stairs into the bedroom. "Lily?" he said, and she pressed her thighs together tightly as her arousal surged painfully, demanding satisfaction.

"What?" she snapped, trying to not sound like a total bitch.

"You're angry," Scorpius said, and she swallowed thickly, because she was furious he'd interrupted her right in the midst of what promised to be a very nice orgasm, thanks very fucking much!

"No, I'm tired. Go away."

Scorpius sighed, but she didn't hear him going down the stairs, and suddenly the bed dipped down on one side. "I can tell when you're mad at me," he said.

Lily tried not to blush, even though she was still facing away from him. "Obviously not, because I'm not mad. But I will be if you keep bothering me. I'm trying to sleep."

She didn't see Scorpius smirk. "Really? Because you're sounding awfully awake."

The redhead cursed him in her mind. "Because you're talking at me," she snapped.

"Why are you angry?" he pushed. "Because I said you don't take care of yourself? You really don't, you know. Human beings require food to sustain life, and to be at the top of your game, you have to make sure you're going in with your basic needs met so you can focus on the crazy shit."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Thank you for the enlightenment. Good _night_ , Scorpius."

"I'm serious, Lily," he said firmly.

"It shouldn't matter to you," she mumbled.

The blond frowned, and Lily didn't see his confused face. "Besides," he said without thinking, his libido getting the best of him, "if you don't eat, how in the hell is your ass supposed to look so damn good?" He couldn't help it, because he'd noticed it the second he'd looked round while climbing the stairs, as Lily had rolled over, away from him, in bed with only the sheet over herself.

She sat up on an elbow, staring at him searchingly over her shoulder. "You've never even seen my ass," she replied.

Scorpius grinned, then told himself not to read into it. She was still all hopped up on potion, and he had to resist her tempting lure. It was proving to be harder than his cock, which was doing a pretty fucking good imitation of solid steel. He could smell her damp, coconut scented hair, see the outline of one hard nippled breast through her sleep shirt, and all but taste her desire in her wide pupils and heavy breathing. "This is true. But from what I can see," he couldn't resist tracing the curve of it through the barrier of the sheet as he said it, "it's awfully fantastic."

Her mouth parted as she stared at him, and then she licked her lips, shifting slightly to face him more, sitting up properly. "Don't say that if you don't mean it," she said in a whisper, and the blond frowned.

"Why would I say that if I didn't mean it?" he demanded roughly.

She looked away, covering her hazel eyes with dark lashes. "So I stop being mad at you," she said even softer.

Scorpius leaned closer, knowing he shouldn't, not giving a damn, and tilted her chin up and kissed her. And when she groaned into his mouth, granting his tongue access, he couldn't resist taking hot, hungry impressions, tasting her, feeling unbearably attracted to her. Just like the last time he'd, foolishly, let himself taste those plump, pink lips that had haunted his dreams since. Godric fucking Merlin, bloody hell, fucking shit! He pulled back abruptly, and she pouted at him, looking like temptation embodied and laid out for his slow, methodical enjoyment. This wasn't supposed to be happening!

Lily was having a similar crisis of conscience. She knew she shouldn't, knew it was an awful idea, but when Scorpius kissed her, she felt like he might actually _want_ her. And the baser, most primal part of her wanted him back, twice as bad. "Why are you stopping?" she whispered, and bit her tongue too late.

"We can't," he breathed roughly, and turned his face into her neck, nose dragging up the smooth column enticingly. "You smell so good," he grunted. Lily felt her nipples all but burning they were so hard, and she felt embarrassingly, unbearably close to coming. "And you're really fucking soft," he groaned, a palm sliding up her arm to her shoulder. "And I swear to Merlin, if you tell me it's anything other than that goddamn potion talking, I'll fucking strip you naked and make you scream my name, Lily," he ground out, and tried not to grab her too hard as his desire throbbed painfully in his jeans.

Lily made a little noise that was halfway between a moan and a sigh, and then turned her face into him. "That's not fair," she breathed. Scorpius cursed himself mentally. "How the hell am I supposed to know the difference at this point?" she grumbled.

Lily sighed, hating that she really couldn't tell the difference, even as she moved greedy lips over Scorpius's throat. She might never have the chance to do it again, she told herself. Might as well know for sure what his skin felt like against her lips.

"Lily, you're killing me," he groaned, and she sucked in a deep breath as his hand tangled in her hair, because surely it was the other way around.

"Not even," she said, and pulled back, staring up at him almost accusingly. "You're the one who came in here, interrupting me, and then saying a bunch of nice things and kissing me, and-"

"Interrupting you?" Scorpius cut in, looking baffled.

Lily blushed. "Sleeping. Interrupted me sleeping," she snapped, but then Scorpius grinned mischievously.

"Sleeping," he repeated with an arched eyebrow.

"Yes," she said, hating that her face burned with guilty admission that it was so not sleeping he'd interrupted. Scorpius looked her over.

"How were you 'sleeping'?" he rumbled, and Lily blushed impossibly darker, hating that her red hair and fair skin made it so obvious she embarrassed.

"None of your business," she snarled.

"True," Scorpius admitted, but then his hand slid down and over her shoulder to cover a breast through her shirt, barely refraining from moulding the smooth flesh beneath the soft cotton and teasing her hard nipple. Her breath caught completely, eyes flicking up to meet his. "But I'm still unbearably curious." And if he didn't start thinking unsexy thoughts, his jeans were going to do permanent damage to his favourite body part, he was certain. Because now that the seed had been planted in his mind, Scorpius really couldn't help but wonder just what Lily had been doing before he'd interrupted, and the possibilities were only worsening the predicament in his pants.

The blond pureblood paused, feeling her beneath his palm, and knew if Lily gave him even the slightest hint of supplication, or if she made any move to take things further than he'd already stretched them past propriety, he'd never be able to stop. And while he knew it would be worth it, he still doubted she would agree, especially once she came down from the effects of that damnable potion. In fact he was quite certain she'd probably hate him for it.

"Do you want to find out, then?" Lily asked, and Scorpius forcibly removed his hand from her, telling himself it was too wrong, and she'd be too angry once she was sober. They still had, by his estimation, a couple weeks left to finish the house, and the last thing he needed was his own shitty mood from being on the receiving end of Lily's righteous anger the next time he had to go into the cellar.

"I'd love to," he said thickly. "But I won't take advantage of you," he added firmly, and before he could let his prick get the best of his good sense, he got up from the bed.

"Too bad," Lily sighed, looking heartbreakingly crestfallen, and curled up again on her side. Scorpius gulped, fighting an internal battle he was terrified would be worse to succeed at than lose. "Goodnight."

XXX


	7. Chapter 7

The Department of Oddities and the Unexplained

written by: albe-chan

 **DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational potion use and drinking, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Scorpius turned away, and went to take a freezing cold shower that did absolutely nothing to take the edge off his arousal, wondering the entire time if Lily would be in the next room, trying to 'sleep'. Godric, he hoped so, then cursed himself for it. When he opened the bathroom door after he'd donned pyjama pants, Scorpius saw Lily hadn't moved, and must've fallen asleep, and even though he breathed a sigh of relief, it didn't help that he still felt disappointed. He pushed a hand through damp blond hair, hating that the damnable redheaded witch was so bloody attractive, when she was the one woman he wasn't supposed to want.

Movement out the window caught his eye, and he frowned, squinting, and moved closer to the window that faced up toward the mansion. He frowned deeper, because it was impossible to make out just what was going on in the downstairs kitchen window, but there were definitely two people. And even as he wondered if Stephen Devon, bigot and bastard to the extreme, was getting lucky, he wanted to punch something, because there was no chance he himself was.

Scorpius moved back toward the bed, sitting on the edge of his side, looking at the lumps of Lily under the sheet over his shoulder, then grit his teeth and slid in with her. It had been weeks that they'd been sharing the overlarge bed, and Scorpius had become used to the sounds and movements of Lily sleeping next to him. But it was oddly quiet, without the gentle sound of her adorable snoring, and he knew for a fact, because they had a small mountain of laundry between them, there was no way she was wearing pyjama bottoms. He focused on unsexy thoughts, willing himself to relax because they simply couldn't do what he was actually hoping to Morgana they would.

He laid down and settled himself comfortably, one hand braced behind his head, the other on his stomach, oh so close to his hard prick that ached for him to jerk himself off. But he couldn't do that, not with Lily in bed beside him. That would just be creepy and pervy to the extreme, because he'd undoubtedly be thinking of her in that delectable little tank top, and then how she'd look out of it, while he got himself off.

He closed his eyes, trying to block out the mental images, to little avail, and then, just as he was beginning to think about going back into the shower to just bloody wank off, to his delight, Lily rolled over, onto her back, and sighed. When he glanced at her, he saw she was still wide awake. "Can't sleep?" he murmured, looking back at the ceiling firmly as his gaze wandered down to her breasts, clearly defined and yet covered by her giant shirt.

"No," she grumbled, and sighed again, folding her arms. "And I don't get it," she mumbled, then moved to rub her hands over her face.

"Don't get what?" he asked. Lily turned her head to look at him, and he turned to look back.

Her mouth pouted again, making him want to kiss her, and she said softly, "I finished what you interrupted, and I _still_ can't sleep, and that never happens."

Scorpius couldn't help the grin, because there was no way she knew how unbearably sexy she was, all lust potion drunk and admitting her self pleasure hadn't been enough. "Lily," he said teasingly, and she looked away, blushing and sighing yet again.

"Well it doesn't," she mumbled defensively. "And I have to be up early tomorrow," she added petulantly. Scorpius rolled onto his side, facing her, telling himself not to do and say what he was thinking. It didn't work.

He reached out, sliding a hand over the curve of her hip and feeling her lace and cotton knickers against his palm, then up and over her belly. "Probably because you don't make it a habit to drink questionably expired lust potions," he said, and watched her catch her plump lower lip between her teeth. "I'm assuming," he added, just in case she did.

Lily smiled fleetingly, still staring at the ceiling. "Definitely not. This is a first, and probably a last, for me." Scorpius found that a pity, because under the influence of whatever she'd consumed, she was awfully seductive, and he was willing to bet she'd get laid a bunch more if she did. His palm flattened against the smooth skin of her stomach, because on second thought, he wasn't entirely sure that would be a good thing. He'd punch out any sonofabitch who took advantage of her, whether she wanted them to or not. "Why are you touching me?" she asked, and gently pushed his wrist aside, putting her own hand where his had been. She still wasn't looking at him, and he wondered why.

"It's hard not to," he admitted. Lily snorted.

"Okay," she scoffed, and he felt her pull her too big shirt down, tucking it securely under her bottom. "I'm going to keep lying here with my eyes closed and try to sleep," she sighed.

The blond pureblood stared at her for a beat, then before he could stop it, his mouth was moving of its own accord, making words, and he was too distracted trying to resist touching her some more, everywhere, and for awhile, to do anything about it. "You're joking, right?" he said. At last she turned her head to look at him.

"About what?" she breathed.

"You really think it's not taking a lot of concerted effort right now not to touch you?" Especially now that he had the best idea of what Lily's breasts would feel like in both his hands, naked, and just how he would fondle them, and stroke her hard little nipples, and then-

"Maybe for you, because you're probably addicted to sex, but I'm pretty positive not touching most parts of me isn't a big difficulty for the average man." She cleared her throat, and in the dim sunlight still clinging to the horizon, he could see her blushing dark. "Anyway, this is weird. Goodnight."

Scorpius scowled, because that sounded awfully self deprecating, and her tone suggested she might actually believe it. "Oh hell no, Potter," he snapped. She sent him a glare as he sat up and waved his wand, turning the lights on. "We're going to set the record straight," he said, feeling angrier than was logical after realizing she truly didn't see how utterly perfect she was.

"Alright then," she snapped back, sitting up as well, folding her arms and looking furious and much more like the usual version of Lily Potter he interacted with. Scorpius hoped to Merlin that meant the damn potion was wearing off, even as he registered his motives for such were beyond questionable. "Allow me to set the bloody record straight, then!" She tossed her hair over one shoulder, holding her arms out wide. "I'm never going to be a single digit size outside the shoe store, I've eaten at least my own body weight in ice cream in probably less than the last year, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've willingly worked out in my whole life. I'm not bloody blind, Malfoy, and I'm not stupid, despite what you might think, because I get that I'm never going to be anything else, and I can accept the average male isn't interested when there are women like Alex walking around."

Scorpius scowled deeper. "I'm going to have to disagree," he said through gritted teeth. "Because, speaking as the average male, I can assure you the thought of being poked by hip bones and seeing exactly how many ribs a woman has while fucking her isn't the least bit enticing. Not when there are women like you walking around."

To his shock, Lily laughed, loud and derisively, at him. "Oh please," she scoffed, and blond brows drew together angrily. "On what fucking planet are you considered an 'average' male?" His eyebrows shot up in shock at that, ego inflating dangerously. "Not to mention, you'll fuck anything that walks, so far as I've heard. And I've heard plenty over the years," she added.

Dark grey eyes narrowed, because that deflated his male ego a little, that she thought him so uncultured and low that he didn't even have basic standards. "Then you should believe my experience when I tell you it's far more enjoyable to fuck a woman with a _woman's body_ as opposed to one who looks like a hungry twelve year old."

Hazel eyes rolled. "Maybe you, but I can promise you, that's not the norm." She folded her arms stubbornly. "Besides, why do you care?" she snapped.

"Because I've been fucking hard since you took your bloody shirt off and you don't seem to realize how goddamn sexy you are! And it's driving me nuts!" he growled. Her eyes widened, cheeks going bright pink, mouth parting.

"Stop," she whispered, looking away.

"I can't!" he growled. "You want to set the record straight, there you fucking go. You're bloody gorgeous, you have every possible curve a man could dream of and desire, and if you make one more snide remark about thinking you're fat, I'm not going to held responsible for the outcome."

White hot guilt tamped down his surging arousal as she looked back at him and he realized the brightness in her eyes was from tears, and when the first trickled down her cheek, he wanted to curse his own mouth shut. "Why?" she whispered. "Why are you telling me these things?"

Scorpius blinked. "Because it's the truth," he replied automatically.

Lily stared up at Scorpius for a long moment, not wanting to believe him, part of her downright refusing to, but she could tell by the firm set of his mouth and the way he kept staring at her, _he_ meant it. He actually believed she was gorgeous! She bit her lip to refrain from laughing, and wiped the stupid tears aside. She'd never felt the way she was feeling now about a man. That he truly desired her, and that she was almost trembling with how bad she wanted him in return. Even her ex, the guy she'd spent the first half of her twenties with and the only person she'd ever slept with, had never told her those things. Of course, he'd said she was pretty, and had seemed more than fond of the perks of her extra weight had on her bustline and butt, but it was hard to forget that he'd also been the one to suggest she eat better, and exercise more, to the point of belittling her at times, before the messy end of that entanglement.

Lily sucked in a breath, knowing it wasn't allowed, and she could lose her job, but in that moment the redhead didn't care. She reckoned it may have been the lust potion, still chugging through her system, but she wanted to bask in the knowledge some wizard, even if it was only Malfoy, found her attractive, and wanted to get her naked and horizontal. And Lily wanted to believe what Scorpius obviously felt too, if only for one night. But now that the moment had arrived, she felt nervous, and shy, and utterly silly, biting her lower lip hesitantly. She had no idea how to play the vixen, but she would try. "You said before," she murmured, looking at his mouth, half afraid to meet his eyes again, in case she saw something like dawning horror in them, "you'd strip me naked and make me scream your name if you thought it was anything other than the potion talking."

Scorpius nodded. "I did," he agreed roughly, and she chewed her lip, hoping she wouldn't look as stupid as she felt, as the redheaded witch threw caution to the winds and leaned back on one arm, pushing her breasts forward.

"What if I told you it's not just the potion?" She fought the urge to shiver in awareness as his hand curved around her hip again, going down the outside of her thigh, dragging the sheet down. She had to bite her lip to hold back a whimper as his fingers curved around her kneecap and skimmed back up the inside of her thigh.

"I'd say that's fucking great news," he said in a deep voice that made her nipples unbearably hard.

She looked at him levelly, and said quite truthfully, "It's not just the potion." Because at that moment, Lily knew that even if she hadn't touched a drop of the lust potion from her twisted uncle, she would be just as hot and bothered by the feeling of Scorpius so close, telling her she was bloody gorgeous, and touching her so...intimately. Maybe more embarrassed, but definitely not any less turned on than she was, despite her earlier endeavors to combat the damned potion.

"That's fucking great news," Scorpius replied, smirking, and she sucked in a wobbly breath as his hand moved possessively around the junction of thigh and pelvis, just under her sleep shirt. "Does that mean you want me to strip you naked now?" he asked roughly.

She wet her lips, letting her inhibitions fly, and grinned. "Only if you promise I'm going to be screaming your name."

"Deal," he said, and kissed her, tongue pushing without resistance into her mouth, even as she moved to climb atop his lap. They both groaned when she settled against him, feeling the hot, hard line of his arousal nestled perfectly between her legs as she straddled him.

Lily almost forgot how to breathe when his hands slid up, underneath her sleep shirt, taking stock of everything, from her little buddha belly to the love handles she detested, then up and around the underside of her rib cage, and, at _long last_ , over her breasts. She moaned into his mouth, unable to resist grinding against him, rolling her pelvis into his hungrily, as his long fingered hands cupped the smooth, firm weight of her flesh, thumbs stroking at her already beaded nipples, making them plump and engorged. The redhead tossed her hair, breaking from his mouth to gasp as his talented fingers tugged just enough at one nipple to make her uncomfortably wet.

"Take this off," Scorpius growled, tugging her massive shirt up, and she complied willingly, stripping the garment and flinging it aside carelessly. The blond pureblood could only stare at her for a long moment, and then said roughly, even as his hands regrettably traced back down her torso, "You have no idea…" He trailed off, looking at her, and the redhead felt a stab of embarrassment. She made to cover herself, feeling suddenly self conscious, but before she could, Scorpius caught her wrists lightly, hands slowly moving up her arms. "So perfect," he murmured, unable to resist fondling her breasts again, teasing her nipples, eyes flicking up to watch her face.

Lily couldn't resist touching him return, because she'd seen, and that was good, but touching was _far_ better. He was all hard, firm planes and angles, wrapped in smooth, tanned flesh, but the golden hair on his chest was soft, along with the soft hollows behind his elbows and under his collarbones. "If this ends up just being a high quality dream, I might just steal that whole fucking box," she whispered, mostly to herself, because she could feel Scorpius's large, warm hands sliding into her panties to grab both her ass cheeks. She squeaked when he grasped her firmly, bringing her more intimately against his erection.

"If this is a dream, I'm going to cry," he grunted back, and before Lily knew what was happening, he'd rolled them over, laying her back in bed and moving, his weight braced on an elbow, over her. She spread her legs, ready for him, but instead of stripping her knickers and taking her like she'd assumed, based on past experiences, he merely kissed her. The redheaded witch groaned when his free hand moved around from her buttock to the topmost part of her inner thigh, warm and distracting, fingertips tracing delicate patterns on her sensitive flesh.

She couldn't resist, and threaded her hands through his thick, platinum hair when his mouth moved to drop lazy kisses down her neck. "Scorpius," she murmured.

"Did you play with your nipples while you pleasured yourself?" he asked in a husky voice, lips moving over the soft flesh between her breasts as he spoke.

"Yes," she admitted. Scorpius grunted, kissing the full, curving underside of one.

"And did you rub yourself through your panties?" he rumbled, thumb moving to brush the telltale dampness on the fabric. She moaned, low and long, in the back of her throat, arching into his hand, then cried out as his mouth brushed her hard nipple.

"Yes," she panted.

Scorpius groaned, tongue flicking out to tease her nipple mercilessly, and she writhed, feeling ungodly close to coming yet again. And then she moaned louder, because he closed his lips around the hard peak of flesh and suckled while Lily gripped his shoulders with her nails as pleasure crashed over her, lighting up her nerve endings like a Christmas tree and pushing her ever closer to release. "Fuck, so good," he rumbled, withdrawing and making her whimper at the loss.

"Oh yes," she agreed breathily as he turned his head and shifted his weight to treat the other aching nipple to the same experience, one long finger teasing inside her panties as she rocked against him. Lily fought to maintain control and not do something horribly embarrassing, like come before he even had her fully naked.

"How many fingers did you have inside yourself?" he demanded, voice husky and rough, and she gulped, looking up at him as he pulled back to stare down at her.

"None," she replied in a raspy voice that sounded funny to her own ears. His brows lifted, and then he smirked.

"Mmm, that can only mean one thing," he replied, and nipped very gently at her plump, wet nipple. She whined with need, and then almost jolted out of her skin, because suddenly his finger was caressing the very best spot, and her pulse thundered in her ears.

"Unh!" she grunted incoherently as his hand pulled back, then slid over her mound and into her underwear again, fingers parting her dripping flesh. Two of his fingers, slick with her juices, dragged up either side of her clit, pinching ever so softly, and making her want to scream.

"You're probably really fucking close, aren't you?" he rasped, and moved to suckle the first nipple again.

"Scorpius!" she cried out. She felt her control slipping as he caressed her, and then squealed as his fingers plunged down and into her, thumb swirling perfectly over her hard, throbbing nub of ecstasy. " _Scorpius_!" she moaned, because after pulling back and pushing his digits deep again, curling them perfectly against the spot that would undo her, she was coming, hard and fast and embarrassingly loud, beneath him.

When she came back to reality, still breathing heavy, Lily wanted to cry. Because while that had been exquisitely perfect, she'd just gone and lost the only chance she would get to have Scorpius Malfoy, by being greedy and inexperienced and coming when he barely even touched her. Godric, this was so not fucking fair!

Scorpius still had his hand inside her panties, and was teasing her wetness, making something ache pleasurably, deep inside, but he had moved onto his side, against her, his erection pressed into her fleshy hip. "You're so damn responsive," he murmured, kissing her neck, and groaned, shifting his pelvis against her. She licked her lips, and pushed his wrist away, rolling to face him.

"Are you?" she purred, and boldly reached out, stroking his cock through the confines of his pyjama bottoms, her hand ghosting over the rock hard flesh teasingly.

"Bloody fucking hell," he groaned, and crushed her mouth with his own, grunting as she gripped him firmly on instinct, and then he grasped her wrist, pulling away. "Please don't tease me," he rumbled, and then pushed her hand inside his pyjamas, and Lily fondled the impressive, hard length of his arousal, enjoying the way he groaned and panted.

"Do you like that?" she asked, feeling a heady surge of renewed passion. She wanted to watch him come undone as he'd done to her, and licked her lips, thumb teasing the sticky head of his cock. "Is this what you think about when you're jerking off in the shower?" she purred, and pressed herself closer. She'd figured out, after the first couple weeks, there was only one reason Scorpius took a twenty minute shower sometimes and five minutes any other time. The blond lost his breath as she pressed his hot hard cock against the softness of her belly. "Or are you thinking about having this dick other places than just my hand?" she whispered.

Scorpius reached around, grabbing her ass, pulling her closer. "Oh fuck yes," he groaned, thrusting into her fist now.

"Do you imagine how your cock would feel sliding between my ass cheeks instead?" she murmured, heart thudding excitedly as he twitched and jerked against her palm. He moaned. "Or maybe you're a breast man," she teased, leaning in to nip at his neck. "Is that it?" she rumbled, jerking his prick faster now. He panted roughly. "Do you think about coming all over my tits, Scorpius?" she demanded.

"Ohh, fuck. You bet I do, darling," he groaned, thrusting against the exquisitely smooth surface of her palm, his precome making it slick.

"Mmm, no," she whispered, lifting up and leaning in to say it against the shell of his ear. "I know you, Scorpius," she purred, then flicked his earlobe with her tongue. "You probably fantasize about coming in my mouth, don't you?" she crooned, and he moaned, pushing her away moments before he came, trying to stifle the urge, not wanting to be finished off by nothing more exciting than her goddamn hand. And, if the blond pureblood was honest, he didn't want Lily to think he had so little control. Even if she'd hit the nail on the head, and he'd come, more than once as he wanked off in the shower, picturing her perfect, sassy mouth around the base of his cock.

"Fuck, Lily, you might just have to steal that box of lust potion anyway," he rumbled. "So long as you always ask me questions like that, sounding like that, with your hand wrapped around my cock." He grunted again, pushing aside the desire to come, because she was so damn sexy, but he wanted to wait as long as physically possible, if only to savour her.

"We'll see," she said, and grinned. He kissed her, enjoying the soft moans she made in response as he took his time with her, savouring the warm flavour of her mouth as the last of their clothing fell away, and waited until she was gripping him tightly, trying to grind against him, with one creamy thigh thrown around his hips, and he was positive she wanted more. He rolled them easily, and when she straddled him, panting and looking desperately aroused, Scorpius couldn't hold back. He guided her hips up, sliding against her dripping folds teasingly.

Her mouth went into a soft little O when he pulled her down, guiding her to take him inside her, hazel eyes still wide. "Scorpius," she breathed after long agonizing moments where she slowly rocked and accommodated him inside her. " _Oh_ , yes!"

"Fuck, Lily," he grunted, buried to the hilt in her, feeling her relax and melt onto him, delicious breasts pressing into his chest, pelvis rocking steadily.

"Mmm, yes, please," she breathed, and buried her face in his neck, lifting up agonizingly slow and pressing back down greedily, making the very best little huffs and grunts of pleasure as she rode him experimentally for a seemingly endless time. "Ooh, _ooh_!" she groaned, the sound rising in pitch and volume when, on her slow downward stroke, he thrust up into her impatiently, his control finally wavering.

"I can't fucking wait," he grunted, and reached around greedily for her ass, even as he withdrew and pushed into her again, taking control from below, shifting his knees up for more leverage as he held her and started fucking her.

"Oh Godric, why were you waiting?" she moaned, and shifted upward, hands braced either side of his head, giving him an excellent angle for viewing her breasts jiggling in time with his thrusts. "Oh _fuck_ yes!"

Scorpius grunted, thrusting harder and faster, wanting to watch her coming for him again. "Yes, Lily," he groaned, feeling his own lust spiralling out of control, bliss coiling tighter in his belly, threatening to explode. He shifted his knees up more, pounding her hard, loving her squeals and cries of pleasure.

"Scorpius!" she moaned, his prick hitting the most perfect place within her she hadn't known existed until that moment, and she felt her control slipping. "Yes, oh _yes, Scorpius_!"

He grasped her ass hard, feeling himself spiralling out of control. "Fuck yes, Lily," he all but snarled, and she felt something let go within her as she was lost to the very best orgasm she had ever experienced in her not quite twenty eight years. It was all perfect, screaming ecstasy, and even though she didn't hear herself, it was his name she screamed as completion crashed through her, and she went to heaven.

Scorpius could only hold her and buck into her, loving the way his name sounded on her lips in the throes of ecstasy, and doomed himself to being quite possibly the worst friend and certainly the worst sort of work partner. But he couldn't deny, hearing Little Lily Potter crying out his name as she came all over him, was the best damn thing he'd ever heard, and worth whatever deep circle of Hell he'd just damned himself to.

Lily groaned as she slowly came back to herself, realizing she was lying, probably quite heavily, all over Scorpius, and panting as though she'd just sprinted a mile. She lifted up, and moaned a little, because he was still inside her, still half hard, and she couldn't fathom how she'd been with her ex for almost five years, and it had never, _ever_ been like that.

"Sorry," she murmured awkwardly, blushing and lifting off of him, laying down on her own side of the bed, trying to sear as much of the last encounter into her memory as possible, if only so that she had something absolutely mind blowing to call up on lonely nights.

Scorpius frowned. "Why are you sorry?" he rumbled. "That was bloody fantastic."

"I dunno," she mumbled, rolling over. "I'm tired."

She felt a warm, large hand smoothing over her hip, and then held her breath as Scorpius leaned in and kissed the nape of her neck. "Goodnight, Lily," he breathed, and she waited for him to pull away. Instead, she merely felt him shift and get comfortable, probably in the middle of the large bed, spooned gently behind her. Close enough for her to be far too aware of his body heat, but not quite touching. She let her breath out shakily, trying to come to terms with what she'd just done.

The redhead closed her eyes, shutting off her churning emotions, because she could deal with it all when she woke up, and fell into a blissfully deep sleep.

XXX


	8. Chapter 8

The Department of Oddities and the Unexplained

written by: albe-chan

 **DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational potion use and drinking, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE** : Sorry for the delay, y'all. It's been a busy month for me, and I've been sick as all get out. On the upside, I'm an aunty again, and I have a niece this time! :) Cheers!

XXX

Lily woke in the dark, feeling warm, and relaxed, and oddly sore. But it wasn't an unpleasant sort of ache. And then she started, because she remembered and realized simultaneously, that she and Scorpius had partaken in hot, fucking _molten_ hot, sex together and she'd fallen asleep afterward. And now she was pressed, completely and intimately, against Scorpius bloody fucking Malfoy. _Naked_. A part of her was unbearably pleased by the thought. The rest of her told her to _get away from him_ and fast, and she made to slip from his casual, sleeping embrace.

But the second she began to edge away, put space between them, his arm turned into an iron band. "Don't go," he mumbled. Lily bit her lip, because there was no way the blond pureblood was awake, and there was no way she'd be able to tell either way in the darkness.

"Scorpius," she breathed, trying to pull back still.

"Where are you going?" he demanded, and Lily decided that sounded like a pretty awake Malfoy. "It's not morning," he rumbled, and the next thing she knew, his hand slid into her hair, they were somehow touching again, and then his mouth covered her own. And Lily couldn't help but sigh, melting into the kiss. He had a point, really. It _wasn't_ yet morning. So maybe-? "Lily," Scorpius groaned against her mouth, hand dragging down from her hair and over her naked breast, and he grunted. "Tell me this isn't a dream."

"This isn't a dream," she said, to reassure herself as much as him, and stifled the urge to grin at his admission. As if he actually dreamed about her.

"Thank Godric," Scorpius said huskily, kissing down her neck in the dark, and she bit her lip on a moan as he teased her sensitive nipple. She couldn't hold back when he took the sensitized nub into his mouth, licking and suckling erotically, and she lost her breath as he rolled them to lay atop her properly.

"Scorpius," she whimpered as his mouth dislodged with a wet pop, and the redhead cradled his head in her hands as he moved to treat the other nipple to the same experience.

"Fuck, darling, it sounds so good when you say my name that way," he rumbled, pulling back, and just as she was about to demand he make her, then, his mouth met hers again, cutting off her reply. "Almost as good as when you're screaming it," he added, and she blushed, but then her eyes went wide, mouth parting, and she grasped his shoulders as something hard nudged into her soft, slick heat.

Her legs fell open for him and Lily spread herself as he slid into her, her heartbeat thundering in her ears, liquid arousal pumping through her veins and making her nerve endings sizzle. "Oh Godric fucking hell, yes," Lily moaned, and her legs moved of their own accord around him. She shivered with desire as he withdrew, achingly slow, and she tried desperately to hold him inside, and cried out as he plunged back in. "Yes, _yes_!"

"Yes, Lily, so fucking hot and wet for me," he groaned, and she moaned in response, grasping him desperately, needing more, far more, as he rocked out of her slowly once more. Her head tilted back in bliss when he slammed home roughly. "Sweet fucking Merlin, darling," he said through gritted teeth as she cried out and her nails raked up his back.

" _Scorpius_ ," she moaned loudly, wanting more, harder, faster, just fucking _more_ , as he eased out yet again.

"Just like that," he rumbled, and she moaned when he pushed fast back in.

"More," she panted, even as he began to pick up the pace.

"More?" he all but purred against her ear, and the redhead wriggled and arched into him as he grasped her breast firmly, bent his head, and nipped her nipple. "Greedy, are we?" he murmured, and she whimpered, even as he filled her, hard and fast, again.

"Fuck yes," she breathed, pride completely gone under the blazing intensity of her arousal for him. She'd never felt so utterly uninhibited in bed, and didn't feel, in the moment, the slightest bit embarrassed. Though that could've been because the room was still dark, and the moonlight surely wouldn't show her blush. "So stop holding out on me," she said as sternly as possible, although the words still came out breathy with need and raspy with desire.

Lily yelped when he bit her neck, and rather roughly at that, but it turned into a groan as he withdrew fast and slammed into her once more. "Fuck, Lily, you're so good," he rumbled, and she could only moan, gripping him with her legs as he fucked her hard and fast and utterly perfectly, levering up and hooking his forearms under her knees for better leverage. "Is this what you want, darling?" he demanded.

"Yes, yes, _yesss_ ," she moaned, even louder still, giving in to her deepest and darkest desires and submitting to the blond pureblood entirely. " _Fuck_ yes, Scorpius!" Her hands gripped the sheets with white knuckle force as she felt the pleasure coiling tighter within her, building to a crescendo, and she wasn't sure she'd last. " _Scorpius_!" she squealed, eyes going wide as she stared up at him, right on the edge.

The blond pureblood looked back at her, the faint light hiding his eyes, but Lily swore she could feel him watching her as she tried to stave off the inevitable. "Yes, Lily, come for me," he growled, and she couldn't hold back any longer. She came, hard, fast, and with earth-shaking intensity. She didn't hear Scorpius grunting his own release, and barely noticed him lying with his full weight atop her, and groaned as she finally, at last, opened her eyes and came back to herself.

"You're really good at that," she panted honestly, one arm thrown over her eyes, chest heaving like she'd just sprinted way too far and _way_ too fast. She felt Scorpius chuckle as he rolled off of her, and she turned into his warmth.

"I have lots of practice," he said, and Lily felt her mouth drop open. Really!? "You, on the other hand," he continued, oblivious to her shock he was just talking about all the countless witches who'd given it up to him before her, "are bloody fantastic at that," he murmured. She closed her mouth. "Because I'm willing to bet you don't have nearly so much practice, but you just fucking rocked my world, darling."

Lily couldn't decide if that was a compliment or not, and she felt too warm and content and utterly sleepy to think too hard on it, but she couldn't help, even just for a second, basking in the fact that _she_ of all people, had just rocked Scorpius fucking Malfoy's world. It was a decidedly good feeling, even if she was fairly certain it qualified as checking off multiple deadly sins. And feeling warm and sleepy and content, she slowly drifted back into sleep, smiling.

When Lily opened her eyes the next morning, the room was barely lit with the dawn, she felt utterly content, and then jumped a little. Because she was tangled up with Scorpius, her unconscious body obviously much more fond of him than her alert and awake brain. The redhead immediately pulled away, and gulped, trying to remind herself she loathed him. But when he was sleeping, silent and peaceful, drawing steady even breaths, and looking utterly harmless, it was hard to.

So instead, Lily found herself studying him while he slept, admiring his classical good looks, the soft mess of platinum hair, and, though she blushed a little, the section of very defined, _very_ male torso available for viewing pleasure. She turned her eyes away by sheer force of will, because it was embarrassingly easy to stare at him, and the red haired witch sat up, throwing her legs out of bed, determined to start her day, although her clock only said five forty seven.

After getting up and taking a long shower, Lily scrounged some breakfast, trying to remind herself they _had_ to go shopping again, or at least she did. Scorpius made food appear from nothing, she swore, even though she was aware of Golpalott's Laws. And then she paced nervously, wondering if she should go up to the house, or if it would be considered an invasion of privacy by the people who lived there now. Their contract with the Muggles had merely stated they'd require full, unrestricted access to the home and grounds, within reason, until they deemed the work complete. No mention of anything like working hours was specified, but Lily didn't really want to sneak around, or intrude upon her Muggle neighbours as they went about their lives.

The only thing was now that people had actually moved in, and there were real, live, _Muggle_ inhabitants, Lily felt indescribably weird going up to the house now, especially knowing she'd be stripping potentially life-threatening, for Muggles anyway, spellwork and enchantments from within. Even if it had been a full week since the Muggles had moved in, it still felt like that first morning to Lily. Work had been so much easier when the house sat unoccupied, and Lily was uneasy about experiencing another run in like she'd had the previous day with Stephen Devon.

It hadn't been anything in particular about the encounter that rattled Lily, but there was something in the way Stephen Devon had looked at her and spoken with a definitely flirtatious edge in his tone as they exchanged pleasantries that had made the redhead a little nervous nonetheless. She wasn't afraid, by any means, but she was definitely not keen to be alone with Devon again. So, instead of facing her awkward fear of bumping into the Devons as they left for work, she decided shopping was the bigger priority and popped off to the market in Diagon to replenish their supplies.

She'd just gotten back to the little cottage, having Apparated from Diagon to behind the bushes at the end of the driveway and walked the rest of the way to her temporary home, juggling three bulging and handle-less brown paper bags of groceries in the Muggle style, because she didn't dare blow her cover, when the one person she'd gone shopping to hopefully avoid called out to her.

"Would you like a hand with those?" Stephen Devon called, his posh, Italian leather loafers crunching on the loose gravel that served as the cottage's driveway as he strode toward her.

The redhead smiled politely over her shoulder at her neighbour and readjusted her grip on one of the bags in an attempt to fish out her set of Muggle keys from her pocket, although they'd been most only for show until that point. "Oh, thank you, but I'm sure I'll be alright, I've just got to get-" Before she could wrench her keys free of the damnable pocket on the slightly too snug jeans she'd donned that morning, the two bags cradled in Lily's left arm began to topple, and she fumbled the third as she over balanced to catch her groceries. Just as she felt herself begin to topple, one strong arm came around her waist, righting her, while the other held her bag securely, preventing the fall and spill she'd braced for. "Thanks," she mumbled, blushing lightly, even as Stephen chuckled huskily at her. "I'll be fine," she added hastily, stepping out of the Muggle man's embrace, because he didn't immediately withdraw his arm.

Lily carefully set down her bags, fished out her keys, and flashed the man another smile in thanks, even if she was more than a little embarrassed. Stephen cleared his throat, looking uneasy, and just as the redheaded witch opened her mouth to say thanks, and bid Stephen farewell, Devon said abruptly, "I actually wanted to ask you a favour, Mrs. Thornbridge," he said, and Lily's face fell into surprised confusion.

"Me? I, um, I mean, I-"

"It's been short notice, but I need accompaniment to dinner, but Alex just rang me and told me she'll be at work late, and then she has dinner with her aunt afterward, so she can't make it, and God, I really shouldn't even be asking, but-" He broke off and flashed her a sheepish smile. Lily's return smile was purely mechanical, because she could easily hear the rest of the statement echoing thorugh her mind. _You're an acceptable date for a man who's desperate._

"Look, Mr. Devon," she began, but he waved her away.

"None of that. Mr. Devon is my father, call me Stephen, Lily." The redhead bit her tongue on the reminder she hadn't really given him free reign to address _her_ by her given name, even if he insisted she do so for him. "And really, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I understand that it puts you in an awkward spot. It's just, this is the sort of thing for work that could… Well, never mind." He looked so down by the time he finished rambling, shoulders sinking and mouth turning down in a desperate frown, as if trying to think of any other option. And even though it hurt, Lily couldn't help but take pity on the poor bastard.

"Look, if we agree to go as _just friends_ , because your wife was unavailable, then I think maybe I could help you out. If it's for a good cause," she said, probing as to whether this meeting or dinner or whatever it was would help in some sort of promotion. Lily wasn't very good at Ministry politics, so the politics of Muggles felt even more confusing to ponder.

Instantly, Stephen was back to beaming, his face alight with hopeful joy. "Really? You will? Oh God, that would mean so, _so_ much. I don't think I could ever repay you; honestly, you're not just a lifesaver, you are a true gem of a lady, Lily."

The redhead blushed a little more, and shrugged. "If I can help out a friend, I usually will," she said modestly, staring at the ground and not seeing the way Stephen's eyes now ran covetously over the brief peek of cleavage peeking out from her blouse as she nervously picked up one of her grocery bags. "When is this thing, anyway? You said short notice, and I-"

"It's tonight. Don't worry, I'll make sure you get the night off from working on that old mausoleum. Can't bring a worker bee to dinner, after all." Stephen chuckled and Lily's smile tightened. "Dress nice, I'll meet you by the porch at eight."

Lily nodded, then turned away. "I'll admit," Stephen said, sounding much closer now, and Lily tensed, licking her lips as she felt him move up behind her, "I'm kind of looking forward to it, now."

She peeked over her shoulder, jangling the keys nervously, and laughed awkwardly. The sound of it rang false to even her own ears. "Just hope there's no dancing involved, because I'm terrible at it," she said lamely.

Before Stephen could reply, even as his mouth curled into a grin, gaze flicking to her mouth briefly, then returning to her wide hazel eyes, the door in front of Lily opened and she whipped her head back around to come face to face with Scorpius. He looked surprised to see her there, holding groceries, and even moreso to see their Muggle neighbour, who'd retreated instantly from Lily's bubble, standing behind her, holding another of the bags. "See you later," Lily said, glancing back once again at Stephen, who handed her the bag he held.

"Thank you again, Lily," he said, perfectly polite, and with a brief wave to the blond wizard still standing in the doorway to the little cottage, sauntered off, back up toward the main house. Scorpius, who'd covertly Levitated the third bag up into his arms, stared curiously after Devon, while Lily slunk past him and inside, busying herself in the kitchen.

"What are you wearing?" Scorpius demanded at seven forty three that evening, as Lily descended the steep, narrow flight of stairs in their little cottage cautiously in her heels. She'd mentioned how Stephen had asked her to attend some dinner in lieu of his wife, who was unable to attend, as a favour, and that she'd acquiesced. Scorpius, to her surprise, hadn't said a word on it. Apparently he'd been saving it all up until she was about to leave. Goody. The redhead snorted, loud and unladylike.

"It's called a dress, Malfoy," she scoffed, focusing on the stairs.

"Where's the rest of it?" he asked, sounding grumpy and when she looked at him, blond brows were drawn together over dark grey eyes. She stopped on the last step, her eyes level with his.

"What? This is it," she said, and tried to avoid the temptation to bite her lip as his gaze dropped to her mouth, and she recalled the flavour of his kisses with startling intensity.

Scorpius's dark grey eyes roved further down over her, appraisingly. "You know this guy is married, right?" he asked and Lily scowled.

"Obviously," she snapped, and then pointedly let her gaze rove over him. "You know you sound jealous as all hell, right?"

"Of course," Scorpius said tightly. "Then again, it's not everyday you're walking around dressed like you're looking for the closest dick."

"Should I have dressed like I was looking for the biggest prick? Oh wait, apparently I have, because here you are, standing in my way," Lily snapped. Scorpius grinned as his hands slid around her waist possessively.

"If you're going to stay here, then certainly. But because you're not, I'm in your way because you look bloody amazing," the blond rumbled. The redhead's breathing hitched when he kissed, whisper soft, up her neck. "And you smell positively _edible_ ," he added, "and I can't stop thinking about the other night."

Lily blushed massively, feeling the heat of it all but cooking her face with mortification. Because she'd been love drunk on a stupid Love Potion, that night, and had practically thrown herself at Scorpius, then held him down and taken advantage of him. And now, in hindsight, Lily was equally ashamed and pleased, because sex with Scorpius Malfoy had been _amazing_ , but she hated that she was just another in the long line of witches to drop their knickers for him.

"That's unfortunate," she murmured "because I _really_ have to get going." The tall, dark grey eyed pureblood pulled back, looking at her. His face wasn't quite shocked, and only a little derisive, but somehow also awed. "Sorry," Lily mumbled, then stepped down the last stair around him, and slipped silently out the front door, leaning against it briefly, trying to convince herself she wasn't regretting not flaking out, and she simply couldn't flake out, because it was the job. Sort of, anyway. Mostly, at least. ...Kind of, she supposed.

Lily had already broken the cardinal rule of undercover work. Never sleep with your partner, and even if he was okay with it, she wasn't so sure she was. Despite how good it was and despite her really rather wanting to do it again. She told herself that would only lead to one end. Heartbreak. Because after just one singular night, she already knew she'd never be the same after being with Malfoy. He'd taken her, and pleasured her, and brought her to the very edge of sanity that night, and while she had enjoyed it, she also realized if she ever allowed it to happen again, she would undoubtedly become addicted to him. And that would only mean heartbreak whenever he decided to move on with life.

And while she was tempted to have her fling, while she could at least, Lily was afraid she'd lose more than just her innocence of true passion to him. Because Lily was positive if she succumbed to the lure of his body and her own libido, she'd fall head over heels in love with Scorpius Malfoy. And that just wouldn't do _at all_. Because he'd never want long term, and never, ever, love her back.

No, it would be much simpler, and less painful, to simply pretend that night couldn't happen, ever again, and stay strong against the magnetic lure of the blond pureblood. Just not necessarily, _easier_. She walked quickly up to the mansion in her heels, telling herself she was just doing this for the job. That it would be wise to leave on good terms with Muggles, and that this could be considered an act of diversion, as well. Scorpius would have free reign, entirely, of the mansion tonight, and be able to possible tackle the last of whatever was in the basement. Obviously Stephen was married, and just because Scorpius had wound up being interested in whatever she might have under her little black dress, did _not_ mean any other man was. Despite what the blond pureblood might imply. And considering he was married to probably the most gorgeous woman on the planet, Lily doubted Stephen would be interested in little old her, even if she thought she was a definite eight tonight. Hell, the man had asked her out of desperation, after all.

An hour later, Scorpius descended the stairs that beckoned from the trap door into the cellar, trying to clear his mind. That was the key to destroying whatever the hell Forrester had cursed the cellar with, he was certain. And the blond pureblood knew he was close to unlocking whatever the secret was to get the damn enchantment to break, but if he was distracted, he'd never get there and simply waste more time.

The second his foot touched down on the uneven, packed dirt floor, Scorpius felt the glide of something like lethargy trying to overtake him. "You cannot control me," he said firmly, and that enchantment receded. Another, a feeling of suffocating blackness, impenetrable and final, pressed in. "You will not harm me," he said calmly, and the next layer peeled back. And in minutes, after several more heavily laid enchantments, all designed to frighten, scare, and humiliate the trespasser, it was there. The little voice in the back of his head, the one he couldn't figure out how to counteract.

"Ever so tedious, this job, isn't it?"

Scorpius Conjured a chair and sat. "It has its moments."

"Too bad," the voice said, and snickered. "It's going to be an age before you break the hold on the house. Might as well retire early, and leave this little corner out of bounds." There was another dark spurt of laughter.

"I won't do that," Scorpius said firmly.

"Not even for more than just a taste of the pretty redhead?" the voice drawled. Scorpius fought the urge to frown. "I see all your thoughts. Every. Last. One." The blond clenched his teeth. "It's obvious you want her. All you'd have to do is send her down here, and we both know she'd coming running right back up to you. Just like last time."

The blond tried to close his mind, tried to shield his thoughts, but the second that damn voice mentioned Lily… He simply couldn't help but feel riled. "No," he said darkly.

The voice laughed. "Not even if she was running to let you have your filthy way with her?"

Scorpius fought the urge to clench his fists. "No," he said, a little calmer this time.

" _Liar_."

"I am not," he said without hesitation. "The only way I want Lily Potter is if she gives herself to me."

"Even if she's been sipping that potion," the voice agreed, and all but giggled as Scorpius did clench his fists now. "So easy to rile, it's almost not even fun you know. Like a Gryffindor, you wear your heart on your sleeve, Malfoy."

"Fuck you, Forrester," he ground out, then stood up and Vanished his chair, jaw clenched furiously. He should've known not to go down into the goddamn cellar tonight!

"Just like you know you should never have let that tempting treat out to play tonight, but you, foolish bastard, hoping for the best, did it anyway." The blond wizard didn't reply, but even as he turned to go back up the stairs, the voice wasn't finished needling him. "And I think we both know your little flower is probably having a better time than you are."

The blond, feeling surly and outraged, stomped up the stairs and slammed the trap door shut behind himself, wishing he could curse someone or something as he warded it with the usual half dozen enchantments. Instead he went back to the little cottage and opened the fridge. The contents were scarce. He slammed the door shut and opened the freezer instead, pulling out the bottle of Ogden's Finest Firewhiskey Lily had stashed in there, and ripping the cork out forcefully. He hated the goddamn cellar, absolutely fucking _hated_ it, because it took all the tiny little thoughts he managed to repress for the most part, and made them impossible not to think about. Heavily, and in frightening detail.

He put the bottle to his lips and drank until he choked on the burn of damn good whiskey. But he knew the liquor couldn't burn away his damnable, traitorous thoughts. At least not instantaneously. Thoughts of Lily, in her itty bitty little black dress, that fit much closer and covered even less than he'd ever imagined, hanging adoringly off the arm of goddamn Stephen Devon, and that creepy bastard probably laying on the charm. Thoughts of the tempting redhead laughing and flirting and having a grand old time, while he sat at home, trying to get blackout drunk on a pint of whiskey. He scowled and tossed back another couple fingers from the bottle.

And then, to his utter surprise, the front door opened, and Lily slipped in, looking rattled, closing the door swiftly and leaning back against it. Her chest was heaving, her eyes wide and panicky, and her hair looked mussed, as if she'd run her hands through it. Or someone else had, anyway. "You're back," he said, feeling testy, and she looked up at him in surprise, jumping a little.

"You scared me," she said, putting a hand to her chest, breathing heavily. Scorpius scowled, because she looked terrified, and so far as he was aware, even her own imminent death, or entrapment in a cursed mirror, wasn't enough to rattle Lily as much as she currently seemed to be.

"What happened?" he demanded. Lily's cheeks went pink and she looked down.

"Nothing," she said, and pushed off of the front door. "I'm going to go to bed, though, so good-"

Scorpius moved toward her, frowning, because her face and body language were saying a whole lot more than nothing had happened, and Scorpius was thinking the worst. "What happened?" he asked again, softer this time, trying to keep a lid on his temper, which was already soured by venturing into the fucking cellar and dealing with Forrester's brand of magical mind-fucking.

Lily sucked in a breath, and then her brave exterior crumbled. "You were right," she said miserably, hanging her head. "I didn't even see it coming," she murmured. Scorpius grit his teeth but waited, moving to sit on the little couch. Lily perched hesitantly on the edge of the wingback. She pushed her hand through her hair, biting her plump lower lip when it quivered a little. "He said it was just a little dinner thing. We were just going as friends," she said thickly. "And that was alright. I'm pretty sure everyone thought we were more than friends, but I didn't…" She shook her head and Scorpius took a deep breath. He'd knock the son of a bitch's teeth in if Lily said he forced himself on her. "And then he persuaded me to come for a drink after. As a thank you, he said." She laughed, but it was a sad, half sobbed impression of one, without amusement.

"What did he do?" Scorpius growled.

Lily looked up, swallowed and looked down again. "Nothing," she said. "He tried to kiss me, and probably more, but I kind of punched him in the face." She buried her face in her hands and even as Scorpius felt a surge of mingled satisfaction and admiration Lily had punched the bastard in the face, he was upset she was still so obviously shaken. "And then I kind of ran away and Apparated here from a random coffee shop bathroom."

Scorpius couldn't help it. His feet moved forward on instinct, and he pulled Lily into his arms without thought, pressed her close, and tried to think of the right thing to say. He'd never precisely been good at the mushy, emotional shit that women required of him at times, but for some stupid reason, Scorpius didn't want to say the wrong thing now, to Lily. Hell, that was what he did nine times out of ten around her, sometimes on purpose because she was strangely hot as hell when pissed. But he hated to see Lily sad. "Are you okay?" he breathed softly and could've kicked himself. Obviously she wasn't fucking okay, she'd just been kissed against her will by a slimy bastard, and had to punch said bastard in the face! Mer _lin_ , he was such a dolt sometimes! He barely refrained from wincing when she bit her lip, as if wondering what he'd meant.

In reality, Lily was biting her lip to try to hold back the urge to simply melt against Scorpius. That would be all sorts of wrong. But she couldn't help but want to. She wanted to press against his solid form and, just for a moment, let him be something real to cling to, be the strong one. But the redheaded witch held back, because he was nothing more than her owrk partner, could never be anything more, and to pretend otherwise was a dangerous, slippery slope toward catching feelings for the intolerable blond. "I'm going to bed," she said softly, and looked up into dark grey eyes that reminded her, instantly, of how utterly perfect it had been, when she and Scorpius had broken every rule possible, including her own standards a little. That life-changing night when she'd had the best sex she wagered a woman could be treated to with a man _every_ straight woman probably would want to fuck.

"Alright," Scorpius said easily, and Lily envied his seemingly natural sort of peace that allowed him to simply roll with things. "Goodnight," he said, and while he made no move to release her, she didn't pull back, and frowned the tiniest bit, because she'd been, stupidly, foolishly, thinking he might want to kiss her.

After a long moment, she at last pulled back and turned to go upstairs, but then the tall blond pureblood grasped her elbow and turned her quickly around to face him once more. "Scorpius," she said, feeling nettled he was just _manhandling_ her. "What _the fuck_ do you w-?" Before she could finish, his mouth covered hers, and his hands were sliding intimately around her waist, bringing her unbearably close to his tempting body heat, and the delicious smell of him, and it felt too natural to lift her arms around his shoulders, and press herself completely to him, even as she granted his tongue entry to her mouth.

"If you're asking what I want, the answer is you," he said, after breaking away for a moment, but before she could even think of responding, he kissed her again. And although part of her wanted to shove him away and demand he explain what the bloody hell he'd been on about with that statement, she couldn't resist submitting to him and his kiss. Because, if she was honest with herself, she was about as likely to say no to sex with Scorpius Malfoy, now that she'd had a taste, as she was to triple chocolate fudge ice cream. Probably _never_. "Please tell me you're going let me strip this dress off of you, Lily," he groaned against her throat as his mouth roamed lower.

Lily was breathless and holding him on instinct, but her voice was clear as she said, "You fucking bet."

"Thank fuck," Scorpius grunted, and she gasped, arching impossibly closer against him as both of his hands slid around and under her dress, grabbing her ass firmly. Scorpius had been envisioning doing so since he'd first spotted the slinky little black dress hanging in the wardrobe, and as he hefted her up against himself, carrying her toward the stairs, he tried to rein in his excitement at actually getting to bare every inch of Lily's body from under that little dress. It was difficult, because Lily's legs were wrapped around him and her arms were holding him close, pressing her breasts firmly into him.

"Don't be too thankful yet," the redhead warned in a husky voice that did all the right things to Scorpius's prick, now throbbing in his pants. It sounded precisely the way it had when she'd been drunk on lust potion, only now, _he_ was the source of that gravelly, rough desire coating her words. "I get to undress you first."

XXX


	9. Chapter 9

The Department of Oddities and the Unexplained

written by: albe-chan

 **DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational potion use and drinking, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Two Weeks Later

Lily woke to the sound of her alarm clock, reaching out blindly to smack it quiet, but her hand encountered a large zone of nothing. She frowned, lifted her head, and opened her eyes groggily, wondering for the briefest of moments where she was. And then it hit her. She was at home, in her flat, in her own bed. _Because it's over_.

Her alarm clock was still buzzing merrily on the far side of the bed on her little nightstand, oblivious to the heavy weight that had settled in her chest and the sad descent of her heart from her chest to her belly. Life, as she knew it, was officially back to normal. Only Lily couldn't help but feel entirely off kilter. As if she'd been plonked down into someone else's life with poorly inserted memories. Because a mere two months of extended exposure, and two weeks of thoroughly intimate acquaintance, with Scorpius Malfoy had left her so turned around and inside out, she wasn't sure she was even the same Lily Potter who'd last slept in her bed.

Finally Lily turned off her alarm and got up, shuffling into the bathroom to use the loo and shower, wondering what Scorpius was doing. If she had to bet, she'd guess sleeping still, as he probably would be until noon, and smirked a little to herself as she washed up. She got dressed for a day at the office, where she'd probably have a mountain of paperwork to fill out, and a dozen urgent calls to attend to, and headed into the Ministry as the sun rose steadily.

The Atrium was sparsely populated as she moved through it and toward the lifts that would take her up to her office on the second level, and she smiled vaguely at a few other witches and wizards she recognized as she got into a full lift and they started upward. The office for the Department of Oddities and the Unexplained was all but deserted, and Lily found, indeed, a small mountain of paperwork awaiting her at her desk, along with a pair of dozing garden shears atop her In tray that looked as if they'd been causing havoc. Once the shears were dealt with, Lily got to sorting out the rest into most urgent to least urgent, trying not to cringe at the amount of hours she'd be chained to her desk to finish it all, as the office slowly filled up around her. By eight, she was finished her sorting, and told herself, even as she glanced up at his desk for the seventy third time, she wasn't wondering where Scorius was, or if he was alone in bed.

She was just getting started on the most pressing notices when she got a waft of familiar cologne and Scorpius, at last, sat down across from her. Lily tried to smother her smile, but it was impossible, and glanced up at the tall blond pureblood from under her lashes. He didn't look at her. She felt something niggling at her elation. She waited to see if he would greet her, but there was nothing. The redhead felt her relief slowly sinking into dread. Because it was quite obvious Scorpius was one hundred percent as done with her as he was with their assignment. Only apparently, in her case, there was no backlog of paperwork to be filled out for her sake. Just a return to the usual indifference Malfoy normally paid her.

She bit back the urge to sigh and tamped down on the even sillier urge to cry, because she wouldn't be hurt. Oh hell no! She'd known this would happen from the outset, and while she couldn't bring herself to regret her time spent with Scorpius as more than just his work partner, Lily was distinctly disappointed in herself that she'd thought she'd be any different from the rest who came before and would undoubtedly follow her. So instead of saying a word, Lily carried on with her work, feigning oblivion to Scorpius's existence. She didn't see his dark grey eyes dart up and over her as she stood from her chair to pull down a massive reference book.

Scorpius couldn't resist devouring her shape, or what little of it he could see, in her jeans and blouse and over robes that left far too much covered for his memory to do justice. And even though he told himself it was inconsequential, he couldn't help but think of her during that brief moment in time she'd almost, _almost_ , been his. But it was still thoroughly _wrong_ , and so beyond not allowed to happen, he could resist temptation. Even if it would kill him a little.

Scorpius told himself for the dozenth time she was Al's sister, and a co-worker, and he didn't really even like her that way, so she was _off limits_ , but it didn't quite work. And, to top it all off, it was so painfully obvious she didn't care a jot for anything that might have been between them, if her ignoring his existence was any indicator, he was stupid to wish differently.

Just before he began debating taking an early lunch, despite his late arrival, because he could smell Lily's delicate perfume, and it was making him half hard and crazy for her, Barry Balcombe's office door burst open and he barked, "Potter, my office, _now_!"

Lily jumped up as though she'd been hit with a Stinging Jinx in the rear and hurried into their boss's office. The door slammed behind her, and like everyone else, Scorpius was wondering what the hell Lily, _Lily Potter_ , of all people could be hollered into their boss's office for. For a beat, he wondered if it was because she'd lodged a complaint against him, for sexual misconduct on their case, but then squashed that thought. She'd been as guilty as he there. And then he wondered if that's what she was being called in for. To be questioned about whether Scorpius had stretched the realm of propriety too far. And if she finked, and told Balcombe the truth, Scorpius was pretty well fucked.

So he waited, and worked for something to do, and waited some more, and skipped lunch waiting, but still Lily didn't leave Balcombe's office. And just when crazy paranoid fears started to get to him, like maybe Lily was seducing Balcombe, or vice versa, and maybe they'd already gotten round to doing it, he got up. His temper raged at the thought. Lily, in the arms of another, any other, all her luscious curves bared for another's enjoyment, giving some other lucky sonofabitch the pleasure of listening to her reach the heights of ecstasy around them. _Oh hell no_.

Just then, the door opened and Lily came out, looking like she was about to cry and/or punch something. He stood there, not caring that she probably didn't want to talk to him, of all people, when visibly upset. But Scorpius couldn't stop the words tumbling out as she got back to her desk. "What happened in there? What's wrong?"

Lily's mouth pursed and she swallowed, then said in a clipped voice, "I'm going home now. Goodbye, Malfoy."

Scorpius merely stared at her, not understanding, and then she went to her desk, Conjured a big box, and started packing her personal items. "Why do you get to go home?" he demanded.

Lily didn't look up, but smiled a tiny bit. "Oh," she said brightly, "that's one of the great perks of getting fired. You get to leave early the day of."

Scorpius felt his mouth fall open. "What?" he asked hoarsely.

"I got fired," Lily snapped, glaring up at him. "What part of that is hard for you to comprehend?" She put her hands on her hips, and the blond couldn't resist peeking down at her lovely breasts, the blouse pulled taut over them as she held her arms akimbo, and admiring them for a beat before looking back up.

"Why?" he asked, then felt something like horror dawning on him. Surely Lily hadn't been fired because they'd-? "If it's because of what happened," he said, then lowered the tone of his voice, "between us, I-"

"Don't worry," she said, sneering. "I kept that little tidbit to myself. I'm not an idiot, despite what you might think, Scorpius," she snapped, and then resumed packing at double speed. A few minutes later, she Levitated the box up, grabbed her handbag, and looked back at Scorpius, who could only sit there, staring at her, unable to believe what he was seeing. How in the bloody hell could _Lily fucking Potter_ , be fired!? She was a damn good DOU agent, and a helluva witch to boot. And if she ever learned to cook, she'd be able to do it all. _How could she be fired_!? "I just wanted to say," Lily said softly, looking down for a beat, then back up at him, hazel eyes wide and earnest, "I…" She hesitated, biting her lip adorably, then pushed onward, and Scorpius couldn't help but feel in awe of her courage. "I don't regret it. Any of it." She blushed, opening her mouth as if to say more, then smiled, turned away, and walked out of his life.

Lily forced herself not to look back at Scorpius, even as she marched out of the lobby, head held high. So what if she'd just screwed up, 'beyond the realm of repair' no less? She would get over it, and besides, she didn't want to work at a job where what she felt was right went against the rules. And Lily couldn't even see what she'd done that was wrong.

She'd simply, right before they'd packed up and Apparated back to the Ministry, left a note for Alexandra Devon, that warned her her husband might not be faithful. And apparently that had been so far past the rules she'd been fired, for 'interfering' in the lives of the Muggles she'd worked adjacent to for almost a month. Of course, she understood that Alexandra had been furious, and instantly believed her husband that nothing untoward had taken place between himself and Lily, and was apparently putting up a big stink about it. But Lily failed to see how that was her fault. She'd simply told her friend the truth, and if she didn't want to accept it, Lily didn't see that she could make her. But to be _fired_?

Then again, her boss had told her if there'd been even the slightest whiff of scandal, she'd be out on her ass, and apparently telling the truth constituted such, when Alex even went so far as to hire professional investigators into finding out more about Lily, and default, Scorpius. And apparently they'd turned up loads, all of which had required an awful lot of effort and money from Ministry resources to gloss over. She supposed that might be the reason she was fired, but _still_. It rankled, and deeply.

She was damn good at her job! And to think there were still pricks like Scorpius, who barely did paperwork and showboated every day of the week, working there, employed and 'rule abiding' dolts! _Okay, maybe Scorpius isn't a dolt, but still._ Lily pushed thoughts of the tall sexy blond wizard from her head, because that would only worsen the likelihood of crying before she was safely ensconced in her flat to do so. Because she'd almost admitted, assuming it was the last time she'd see Scorpius for any particular reason, she'd actually had a great time with him, and she wanted more, and if he wanted to get together again, she would probably give in with embarrassing ease. Instead, she'd told herself firmly not to go there, because it couldn't ever happen again. Whatever she'd had, or might have had, with Scorpius was simply, well and truly, done, along with her career in the DOU.

Four days later, Lily finally got an owl back from the Department of Magical Transportation, asking her to come for an interview for the last position she'd applied to, as a Floo Operator. She didn't think it would be a fun job, or even remotely close to utilizing her skills she'd gained being a DOU agent, but it would pay her bills, and she'd get a hefty discount on her monthly Floo fees. And considering she was pushing skint broke since being fired, she wasn't about to complain.

She was in the bathroom at home, getting dolled up, because she was being taken out by her cousin Rose and her older brother Albus for a celebratory drink, when she heard someone arrive by Apparition in her living room. She adjusted her little navy blue, cocktail length dress that she barely ever wore, even less so than her little black dress, and sighed, because even with another half hour, she doubted she'd get her hair managed. So she swiped on some peach flavoured lipgloss and called it quits, striding out of her bathroom and into the living room, smiling because Rose would, undoubtedly, comment on her hair.

But it wasn't Rose standing in her living room, looking with interest over her collection of Muggle literature. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?" she demanded before she could stop herself. Dark grey eyes flicked up to look at her, roving slowly down her frame, and the redhead felt a gush of something hot and liquid course through her in the wake of those dark grey eyes.

Scorpius half smiled, unable to help but think it truly was a crying fucking shame Lily didn't dress like she was currently all the fucking time. _Then again, it wouldn't matter if she did, you wouldn't see her_. He frowned a bit at that. "I came to get you," said, eyes finally roving back up her long, creamy legs, over her short little dress and the luscious swells of her breasts peeking out from beneath the sheer lace that gave her dress the illusion of modesty.

"What?" she said blankly.

"Rose and Al were both too many drinks in to Apparate. So I got sent to collect you. Come on."

Lily stared at his outstretched hand, shrugged, and grabbed her purse and coat, slinging both over an arm. "Alright," she said softly, and grasped his outstretched hand. Scorpius felt electric awareness tingle over him at her touch, and even though there was nothing sexual about merely holding her hand, he couldn't help but feel turned on. He could smell her perfume, and it was tantamount to torture, because all he could think about was the last time he'd seen her in a dress and how delightfully _that_ interlude had ended.

They Apparated out of Lily's flat to just outside the doors to the Three Broomsticks, and Scorpius told himself it didn't matter that Lily dropped his hand as if she'd been burned the second their feet were solidly on the ground. He held the door for her and couldn't resist looking at her plump, full arse as she preceded him inside the bustling pub. Rose and Albus were right where he'd left them, at the bar, the former with a glass of wine, the latter with significantly less whiskey in his glass than Scorpius had left him with.

"Lily!" Rose said, hugging the redhead close. "Oh Godric, honey, look at your hair," she said, smiling, and Lily laughed, rolling her eyes, even as she snitched her brother's glass and downed the remaining amber liquid like a champ.

"Congrats on resuming employment," Albus said, waving the bartender over. "Now I know my hard earned tax dollars won't be supporting you on Magical Unemployment."

Lily frowned, but shrugged. "Moving on to bigger better things," she said airily. "I'll have a whiskey," she told the bartender, and dug in her purse for some gold.

Scorpius merely put five Galleons down, adding, "Make it two."

Hazel eyes flicked up toward him and the blond pureblood watched Lily's tongue dart out to wet her lips. "Thanks," she breathed.

"Tosser, you never buy me a drink!" Albus grumbled.

"Or me," Rose added, sipping her wine, giving Lily a lifted brow.

Lily blushed, but Scorpius just said, trying to avoid blushing himself, "Neither of you ever get a better job." There was much laughter, and a chorus of cheers, and the redhead tried to tell herself she was an idiot for thinking Scorpius's dark grey gaze kept roaming to her, and thinking he was somehow recalling, as she was, just how magnificent they'd been together in bed.

"Yeah, because _that's_ the real reason," Albus scoffed, and Lily blushed harder still, but the others laughed and the tension dissipated, even as Lily smiled into those dark grey eyes that had become so very familiar.

"Either way, your loss is still my gain," she said with an air of superiority, clinking her glass against Scorpius's as their drinks were delivered. Lily sipped her whiskey, wondering if she was reading too much into the way Scorpius looked at her, or the flutter of excited butterflies that had yet to calm since she'd first laid eyes on the tall, handsome blond that night.

"And that's something I'll propose a cheers to every time," Scorpius seconded with a smile at Lily and, unless she was hallucinating, a subtle wink.

Two hours and three drinks later, Lily was feeling not only pleasantly buzzed, but unbearably aware of how good Scorpius smelled, sitting to her left and emitting an enticing personal warmth that made her want to lean into him like a feline seeking affection. Not to mention it was making her so hot and bothered Rose had asked, on their last trip to the loo, if Scorpius was making her uncomfortable, possibly because he was still employed as a DOU agent and Lily was settling for her mediocre future position as a Floo Administrator. The redhead, who had been unable to help laughing at that, brushed Rose's concerns aside, stating that she was simply still feeling a little weird around Scorpius now that they weren't around one another almost twenty four seven anymore.

Rose looked politely disbelieving, and Lily, although she was thoroughly tempted, resisted the urge to confide in her cousin about just what had gone down between Scorpius and herself when they'd worked together. She knew they could still get in trouble over it if anyone who might rat them out heard, and she was reluctant to dish even a little about how _great_ the handsome blond wizard was in bed. Those memories were hers, and hers alone, and so what if sitting next to Scorpius, reliving them, made her pathetic? She figured after getting sacked from the only job she'd ever considered and wanted, she was already there. Might as well embrace it by lusting after a wizard who most definitely was no longer interested in her.

She felt her mouth turn down as her buzz turned sour, making her feel melancholic and a little depressed at how perfectly, in a single stroke, she'd completely fucked up her life in almost every single way. How one stupid, if honest and justified, action had taken the best experience of her life and turned it bittersweet to recall, knowing it would never happen again. When the sting of tears burned behind her eyes, she turned jerkily away from Scorpius, who was commenting on her brother's lack of dancing skill out on the floor with a pretty little blonde witch.

The blond pureblood beside her, unknowingly to the redheaded witch, glanced down at her in some concern, and felt something close to horror constrict his throat when her heard her, through her mane of dark red hair, sniffle as though she were crying, or close to it. His eyes flicked to where Albus was still dancing, horribly, with his new blonde friend, and then across the dance floor to where Rose Weasley was half snogging, half grinding up on some rather young looking, dark skinned wizard, who seemed enamoured with her arse, because his hands hadn't left it in the last ten minutes.

If there was one thing Scorpius could admit was his downfall, it was seeing a witch cry. It didn't matter who, or for what reason, or even if he were to blame for the tears. Without fault, every _single_ time he happened to see a woman crying, the blond wizard couldn't help but feel like he had to make the witch stop as soon as possible, so he wouldn't feel guilt over seeing the loss of control and sign of emotional turmoil. He could admit freely emotions, and all their depths, were far beyond his area of expertise, and he treated most extreme ones in the same way. By making it stop before he lost his mind. But with Lily, he couldn't help but want to simply pull her into his embrace and smother whatever sadness might have risen within her with his arms and a hug. Because her tears made a sharp stab of something like agony fizzle over his nerve endings and he wanted her to know that he could be trusted to hold her when she couldn't manage to hold herself together completely in front of him. It was a sight he'd never really seen first hand, and it was bizarre and discomfiting, enough that Scorpius instantly reached for her hand, brows pulled together.

"What's wrong?" he asked roughly, and Lily's shoulders stiffened, and she tensed all the way down to her fingertips.

"Nothing," the redhead witch replied immediately, but then brushed at her eyes in a telling gesture, that suggested she might have actually shed a tear or two.

Scorpius was faced with two options, as he saw it. Either he let Lily think he hadn't noticed her start to get weepy in the middle of a bustling pub, or he removed her from the situation to take her home and put her probably-drunk self to bed. All in all, it wasn't a hard choice to make. Scorpius gulped the last of his Firewhiskey, feeling himself tilt a tiny bit, then straightened. "C'mon," he said firmly, standing up against the threat of a head rush and grasped Lily's hand decisively.

"Where are we going?" Lily demanded, pausing only long enough to finish her own drink, and Scorpius smirked.

"You're going home," he said brusquely, pulling her from the table and toward the fireplace that patrons were allowed to Floo home from when they'd had a few too many.

"I'm not even-!" Lily began, struggling to pull her hand from his tight grasp, stumbling into a stray chair that hadn't been pushed back into its table as they moved away from her brother and cousin.

"You're completely trollied, Potter," he interrupted firmly, and she glared, narrowed eyed and seeing double, at him. "You need to get to bed."

Lily giggled, even as they drew up to the Floo, and Scorpius grabbed a handful of powder, tossing it into the grate and leaving a shimmering blast of green flames. "Are you planning to join me?" she questioned, eve as she allowed Scorpius to lead her forward.

The green flames licked at her shoes as she stumbled into the hearth, feeling the pleasant warmth of Floo travel surrounding her. "You bet, darling," he replied, and pulled her flush to himself, even as he called out her address and they disappeared from the pub in a whirl of green flames.

XXX


End file.
